The Jack of Clubs
by ablackenedrose
Summary: Issei Hyoudou may have been a pervert, but never let it be said he didn't have a good soul. When he's stabbed through the chest and prays in his last breaths, he didn't believe anyone would answer, but someone did. Now he's the Jack of Heaven's chief medical officer, and he had better get with the program, and fast. Less perverted Issei. Many OCs by necessity.
1. Fate's Sense of Humor

_**This is not**_ _ **a rewrite of the Jack of Hearts. This is an AU to the AU.**_

 _Written for TheLastKenpachi at his request._

 _As always, I do not own Highschool DxD._

* * *

When Issei had first had that young woman named Yuuma introduce herself to him, barely able to stutter that she wanted to go out with him, he hadn't hesitated to agree.

Being the enormous pervert that he was, Issei Hyoudou wasn't well-liked by the girls in the school, and his two friends just enabled him. Despite that, he did genuinely want a girlfriend, and Yuuma's request had been a dream come true; he'd have been perfectly fine giving up all his perverseness just to make her happy.

In hindsight, that should have been a red flag the size of a skyscraper, and in a further twist of the knife, Yuuma let the entire date pass by before she made her move.

* * *

They had gone to the movies, gotten lunch, then sat and chatted in the park for more than an hour, watching the sun slip down the horizon. The area was a secluded one, with a fountain in the center of the paved path; no one else was around to share the moment.

When the sun had slipped down to the point of twilight, Yuuma stood from the bench and waved him over.

"Could you do something for me, Issei?"

 _Here it comes!_ Issei thought excitedly. _The kiss to cap off the day!_

"Yes?" Issei said, trying to sound innocent.

"Would you die for me?"

* * *

Issei blinked, the words bouncing around his mind like a tin can bounced off a brick wall.

"…what?"

"Oh?" Yuuma asked innocently. "I said: "Would you die for me?""

Issei's jaw dropped open when a pair of honest-to-God _wings_ tore themselves free from her back, and she rocketed into the air. For a fraction of a moment, she hung there, her black, feathered wings shadows against the dying light.

Ever so slowly, her hand raised, fingers opened wide, until it was almost parallel with the ground. Once she had, a glow reached Issei's eyes from between them. Before his eyes, it twisted, reformed -

Only as it left her hand did Issei realize that it was a spear.

It was far too late to run or evade, and the brunette could only stand there as the spear formed from light rammed through his chest.

The pain took several seconds to kick in, but when it did, it was... indescribable. Horrific was a term that did not belong on the same planet as the agony that flooded the brunette.

He hadn't even realized he'd fallen over until Yuuma had casually walked up and knelt down next to him.

"Oh, does it _hurt_? You were a threat, so you had to be gotten rid of. That's all. Nothing personal." For a fraction of a moment, the mortally wounded young man got a glimpse of the girl's face. Twisted into a cruel sneer, it couldn't have been more obvious that she was taking sadistic glee in watching him die. "Good-bye, Issei Hyoudou."

Then, she was gone.

Issei had never been religious. Every time his childhood friend had asked him to go to church, he'd refused her. He'd never cared a whit for the beliefs professed by the myriad of faiths that existed in the world.

Yet, even as he lay dying, he found himself belting out a prayer regardless. Perhaps it had been his attempt to make peace with the world, or perhaps it was fear. He never had an answer for the question.

 _If anyone's there... I'm sorry for my life... I was a lech, always wanted what I didn't have... stupid, stupid... never gave thanks for my family, my home, or my friends... if you gave me a second chance... I'd take it, but... I... I don't ask for one..._

He didn't remember the words even as they left his brain. Issei's mind wasn't working right, even as he thought through the prayer and sent it up. The blood loss was destroying his mental faculties. He couldn't think, couldn't process anything. His vision was hazing over.

He'd already lost consciousness when the cross of light formed a few feet away.

* * *

It was a few moments before the figure stepped forwards, his lengthy blonde hair rustling in the faint breeze. When the same breeze hit his nostrils, Raphael could smell the reek of blood.

The Seraph's heart sank as he saw the condition the prayer was in. When he had heard the sound, he had assumed that it was simply a young soul, dying before his time from some malady or another, or from a tragic event that no one could have prevented.

The enormous hole in the boy's chest spoke otherwise. The poor child had clearly been attacked with a large weapon of some kind; a long-range critical examination suggested a spear. The Seraph who was patron of doctors felt no sickness or queasiness at the sight of the eviscerated youth. He felt only sadness.

It was true that Rapahel was a very, _very_ old being. He had seen more patient's lives end than he cared to count. That never made the process any more pleasant. The doctor among the Angels had long since grown used to the feeling out of necessity, but the same sadness he always felt wormed its way through his brain regardless.

"Why?" the Seraph murmured under his breath as he walked over to the boy. Kneeling down, the thought continued to replay in his head over and over again. What had provoked this violence? Why had this boy been made to suffer so horrifically in this way?

 _A child should never have to endure such pain..._

Raphael wanted so very much to help. He wanted, more than anything, to unleash his healing water, seal the boy's wounds and help him walk away. His instincts as a doctor demanded it.

The words of Michael, his own brother, denied those instincts a right to be expressed. Raphael understood the reasoning behind his brother's words. He understood the need for consistency in answering prayers. He did not resent it any less for this.

As the Seraph stood, he gave one last regretful look at the boy's body. He had blessed the boy, of course, hoping to at least increase the boy's chances of entrance into Heaven, but that was Remiel's job, not his.

Rapahel was just considering asking Remiel for a favor when the voice crossed his ears.

 **"Well, well, well. Of all the people who might answer, it's you."**

Raphael blinked as he remembered just where he had heard that voice before.

"I take it you amplified his prayers, Ddraig?"

 **"Am I that easy to read?"**

"Indeed. I take it you were hoping that someone, anyone might come?"

 **"Yes, Raphael, I was. We have no time for idle chit-chat. You are Heaven's chief medical officer, yes?"**

"Indeed I am," Raphael said.

 **"I want you to employ those legendary skills of yours and save my host. Do whatever you must do. He does not deserve to die here. If you don't-"**

"I don't need to be threatened, Ddraig. I already know where you're going with this, and I'd rather he not die as well."

Raphael's eyes scanned the wounds and analyzed the amount of blood that the boy had lost. A numb feeling began to pull at his gut as he came to a painful realization.

 _It's already much too late to use the water..._

Even if the Seraph employed all of his magic in a singular burst, the boy had already suffered too much trauma and blood loss for it to make a difference. That left only one option. Raphael hated to put the weight on the child's shoulders, but he had no other alternatives.

Without further hesitation, Raphael reached into his robes and extracted a box. Flipping through it, he drew out a card that he felt was fitting. It was the highest card he had left besides a Joker that he'd never bothered to get approved.

The card was absorbed into the boy's flesh without frill or ceremony. Soon enough, the blood had begun to pull back, the flesh sewing itself back up without the slightest hint of scarring.

Within a minute after placing the card, the boy appeared as though he had never been injured at all.

* * *

When Raphael appeared in Fifth Heaven's medical facilities, every Angel's attention was drawn to the young man in his arms. He waved them off, filling out the boy's room paperwork personally before depositing him there. Raphael had faith in the system's effects, but he saw no reason to take the chance.

After scribbling out a set of instructions for the young man in the local tongue he knew the brunette to use, he proceeded to inform the Clubs in First Heaven.

* * *

"So you're saying that this new Saint was never a believer and you only resurrected him because of the Red Dragon Emperor?"

"That's indeed what I'm saying, Elizabeth."

Raphael stood in the gathering hall of his Saint's home, addressing the half-dozen people gathered at the long table where meals might be shared. Differing expressions were playing across their faces. His Ace and Queen each appeared contemplative. His Ten took the news stoically, revealing nothing. The Nine was as starry-eyed as could be expected, while the Eight had open skepticism on his face.

It was the last who was the first to speak.

"Raphael, I don't mean to give you orders, but that doesn't seem particularly wise. Why waste a card on a person with no combat experience who didn't believe in our faith? Wouldn't the water have worked just as well?"

"I would have employed my healing magics if I had thought they had any chance of success," the Seraph replied. "I would not have used one of my Brave Saint cards otherwise."

"Would I be correct in assuming you wish for us to train him?" the Queen asked, running a hand through her mahogany hair.

"Indeed," the King said. "I hate to pass the job onto all of you, but I simply lack the spare time to do it myself. I don't possess Uriel's incredibly flexible schedule, after all, and you all are Heaven's substitutes and troubleshooters."

Heads nodded all about the room.

"How would you like us to train him, then?" the Ace asked.

Raphael nodded at the black-haired man. "I think that if the job of training this young man falls to all of you collectively, then it's only fair that you have some say what he's instructed in. Obviously, we need to instruct him in Christianity, Heaven's functions and how the Three Factions operate. That's critical information and not up for discussion. I would advise that you assume he knows absolutely nothing about any of those topics, because he likely doesn't."

Another collective nod.

"As for combat? I have some ideas of how I would go about it, but I would like to hear what you all come up with. Discuss it among yourselves and come to some disagreement. You have eight hours."

"We'll have an answer for you, Raphael!" the Nine chirped.

The Seraph smiled at the young woman. "Good to hear, Abigail."

Raphael vanished into a cross.

The Saints immediately began to get into a deep discussion, one which stretched long into the night.

* * *

Convincing his Saints that he'd done more or less right had been the easy part, of course. They were more likely to see the smaller picture.

It was Raphael's brothers that were the tricky part.

He stood before the two of them in Zebel, his sister Gabriel standing off to one side with her arms folded beneath her bosom.

"So you took this boy as a Saint despite his lack of faith or combat experience?" Uriel asked. His brother's tone wasn't angry, but it couldn't have been more obvious that he disagreed with Raphael's assessment.

"Indeed I did."

Gabriel smiled at this, something neither Uriel nor Michael took notice of.

"Why did you feel it was necessary to do that instead of employing your famously powerful healing magic?" Michael asked. "I understand not wanting to make the Red Dragon Emperor our enemy, but was making him a Brave Saint necessary?"

"That was my first thought, but I concluded that he simply would not live long enough for my water to fix his injuries. He had perhaps another forty-five seconds before he slipped away."

"Can you be sure of that?" Uriel asked.

Raphael's eyes narrowed as he looked his brother down. "You have trusted my medical judgments for thousands of years without question. Yet now you doubt them?"

"You two," Gabriel said, shaking her head. "With this arrangement, both the boy and Heaven benefit."

"How so?" Uriel demanded.

"He lives, obviously, and Heaven has a potential powerhouse added to its ranks, among other things." She shook her head, smiling wryly. "The one night I'm not the one listening to prayers... I'd have done the same thing in Raphael's situation."

"You approve of his actions, then?" Michael asked.

"Of course," Gabriel replied casually. "You know that both Raphael and I didn't like the Brave Saint system's standards."

"We still don't," Raphael added.

"That does not give you the right to defy the standards at a whim," Michael said. There was an uncharacteristic touch of iron in his voice. "Don't make a habit of this, Raphael."

"When did I ever hint that I intended to?" the King of Clubs said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do in Fifth Heaven."

Without waiting to be dismissed, Raphael vanished into a cross, with Gabriel following a moment later. Off to the Garden of Eden or her forge in Fifth Heaven, no doubt.

Uriel looked at his brother, eyebrow raised. "Well then, it seems we have been told. I wouldn't put it past Raphael, though..."

"Put what past him?" Michael asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised if this young man turns out to be his own pet project to disprove the Brave Saint system's restrictions as much as anything else. He certainly has an excellent deck to do it with. Three Sacred Gear users, several extremely studious people and powerful exorcists working together to reshape this young man?"

Michael nodded, turning this over in his mind as Uriel walked away.

* * *

Issei hadn't been expecting to awaken at all after he'd lost consciousness. He hadn't believed in a Heaven or an afterlife. He'd thought that once he died, that would be it. There would not be a continuation of consciousness, just an eternal unknowing _nothing_.

He certainly hadn't expected to awaken to the smell of cleaning chemicals and a bright overhead light.

For a moment after his eyes opened, he couldn't remember why this should all seem so odd to him. When the thought came back to him, however, he bolted upright, his heart pounding as he pawed at his chest.

He began blinking when he realized the hole that had been there was gone. His chest was completely undamaged and free of any scarring. For a moment he thought it must have been a dream, before deciding that it couldn't be a coincidence that he was in what was very clearly a hospital directly afterwards.

He shook his head for several seconds, trying to clear his thoughts and calm down, before looking around.

He seemed to be in a normal, clean hospital room – one that seemed to be run by a church, given the crosses hanging on the walls. Yet there was nothing plugged into him, nothing to indicate that he was at all ill or injured.

 _The heck?_

Issei, as previously noted, was not religious to any degree, and he certainly didn't follow any brand of Christianity. The closest he'd ever come to that had been a few brushes with the faith when he was a child, courtesy of that girl named Irina.

He shook his head again, and when he looked up again, he noticed something else.

That the room had a door wasn't something he was at all surprised by. His surprise came from the note that was pasted on the door.

 _Well, guess I'm still in my own country, at least..._

Experimentally, Issei swung his legs over the side of the bed and gently laid his weight on them. They held, and Issei slowly stood up.

After straightening the sheets as a matter of courtesy, Issei paced over to door, each step uncertain. Once he'd reached it, he gingerly plucked the piece of paper off the wood and held it up for closer examination.

 _When you awaken, young man, exit this room, take a left and walk to the end of the hallway. Then, take another left, go to the reception desk directly ahead of you. Hand them this note and follow their instructions._

 _Raphael_

Issei's eyebrow raised as he turned the handle and opened the door. While the name didn't sound entirely unfamiliar, he certainly didn't know anyone called "Raphael".

The door opened into a clean, well-lit hallway lined with doors, each direction splitting off towards an identical endpoint on either side. The walls were constructed of white stone, while the floors were a polished ivory tile that Issei could have eaten off of.

Issei swallowed, renewed nervousness pacing through his brain at this unfamiliar environment. Unsure of what else to do, however, he began walking, following the note's instructions.

The hallway wasn't particularly long, but it was seemingly devoid of any life. He didn't run into any orderlies, other patients or visitors at all, nor could he hear any sounds that would indicate that they were there. The silence was unnerving, and Issei couldn't shake the feeling someone was watching him.

Taking the demanded left at the corner, Issei's vision was filled by what was obviously an entrance area. Two or three people milled about within, none paying him any mind as he entered.

Nervously, he walked up to the reception desk.

"Good morning," the young lady behind the desk said, her tone reasonably friendly. "Can I help you?"

"I, uh..." Issei said, stammering as he tried to steady himself. "I... woke up in one of the rooms and this note told me to come here..." He handed the scrap of paper over to her.

The receptionist didn't bother reading it before she smiled once more. "Ah! Okay. Follow me, please." She stood from her desk and began walking down another one of the hallways leading off of the reception area, Issei falling into step behind her.

* * *

They walked down three hallways, taking a right, left and then another right, before they stood before a large pair of oak double doors. The young woman knocked once on the door before stepping back.

After a moment, a loud buzz echoed through the hall, and she stepped forwards and pulled one of the doors open. Once she had, she waved him in.

Behind the door, Issei was confronted by a large desk organized neater than even his own mother's, at which sat a young-looking man. He was blonde, with a lengthy but well-groomed mop of hair on his head layered several times onto itself. The man was rather handsome.

Only then did it strike Issei that he should have felt much more than nervousness as a result of looking at the receptionist, who was fairly well-built up front, her robes doing little to hide her features. Yet his reaction was instead the more natural of what might be expected, something Issei couldn't begin to understand.

After scribbling something on a piece of paper, the man behind the desk looked up.

"Raphael?" the receptionist asked. "The young man you wanted delivered to you? Your new Saint?"

"Ah, yes," the man said, smiling. "Thank you, Alicia."

"Do you require anything else, sir?" Alicia asked.

"No, that will be all. Thank you again. I wish to speak to him alone, if you don't mind?"

"Of course," the receptionist said, turning and departing the room without any further ado and closing the door behind her.

So it was that Issei was left in an unfamiliar office with a person he didn't know after a night he'd rather have not remembered.

The man at the desk gestured to a chair seated across the desk. "Take a seat, I insist."

Issei obeyed, trying to hide his growing anxiety over this whole situation.

"Err..." Issei said, not entirely sure if he should start the conversation. "...where am I? And who are you?"

The man smiled. "You're in Heaven, young man."

Issei took a moment to process those words. When he had, his eyes flicked downwards to the floor. "So... this is what death is like? More... mundane than I expected..."

The man gave a hearty chuckle. "Wrong floor for that, child. This is Fifth Heaven. The souls of the dead reside in the Third Heaven. That's the one you're thinking of."

"So I'm not actually dead?" Issei asked, his mind tying itself in knots as he processed all of this.

"No, you're not, thankfully. The system has done its work. Don't ask. That will all be explained to you later."

"...who are you, exactly?" the brunette asked. "If this is Heaven, and I'm not with the souls of the dead..."

"Well, I suppose I shan't waste more time," the man said, standing from his desk and taking a step or two backwards.

A moment later, he made Issei's eyes snap as wide as they could possibly go when twelve enormous white wings erupted from his back. Meanwhile, above his head, a single halo of golden light hung in the air, casting its radiance across the room.

"I am Raphael, one of the Four Great Seraphim of Heaven."

For a few seconds, Issei could only stare, jaw agape, sending a grin back onto Raphael's face.

"...should I bow?" Issei finally asked.

"No. I prefer a casual demeanor from my subordinates and my Saints. What I _would_ like is for you to give me your name."

"Issei Hyoudou." the brunette said, his tone having becoming incredibly stiff.

"Well then, Issei, relax. I don't take offense to understandable shock. On that note..." Raphael snapped his fingers.

Issei let out a yelp of pain as a sharp sting passed through his back and he felt _something_ expel itself from his skin. The pain ended as suddenly as it began, but the sensation of something protruding from his back did not vanish alongside it. Issei's head turned to look at what was causing it, and his jaw dropped open once more when he caught sight of what it was.

Two white wings, just like the ones Raphael had, extended from behind his shoulder blades, each lined with perfectly groomed, pure-white feathers.

Issei found himself rubbing his eyes and pinching at himself, too stunned to speak. It wasn't until nearly a minute later that he found his words again.

"I'm... I'm an Angel...?"

In response, Raphael opened a drawer on his desk, withdrew a large, rectangular object and handed it over to Issei. After a moment, Issei realized it was a mirror.

Looking into it, he took in the sight of his own countenance. In the air above his head, a wide halo of light hung, casting his entire face in a bright glow.

"...whoa..."

Raphael chuckled.

For several minutes longer, Issei was left engaged in an intimate study of self. He stared his own reflection in the mirror, taking in every detail. One of his hands, meanwhile, developed a mind of its own and began fingering absentmindedly at the soft feathers of his white wings.

Issei was barely aware of handing the mirror back to the Seraph across the desk.

"Are you convinced now?" Raphael asked, his tone amused.

Issei swallowed. "So... so I'm an Angel. Okay..." As he spoke, his face began to turn downwards – only to catch sight of one final oddity.

The back of his right hand was glowing red.

Drawing his hand up to his face, Issei realized the glow was in the shape of a **J**.

"What's this about...?"

"That letter," Raphael replied, "is a marker of your rank among my Brave Saints. You are my Jack." He folded his hands behind his head.

"Welcome to Heaven, Issei Hyoudou."

* * *

 _And cut._

 _I'm writing this for you, Kenpachi. I better see a review from you! (He said, implying anything plot-important has happened yet.) Don't worry, Issei will meet the rest of the deck in the next chapter and we'll learn what they've come up with then._


	2. Meeting the Rest

_I do not own Highschool DxD._

* * *

With that declaration, Raphael stood up from the desk and pushed his chair in. Then, he motioned to Issei to do the same.

"Now that we've concluded our own introductions... come along."

"Err... where are we going, exactly?"

"First Heaven. Heaven's lowest level. I think it's time you meet my other Saints – the ones who will be instructing you, that is." He put his hand up as Issei's mouth moved to speak again. "That will be explained to you once we get there. I've yet to hear their own plan for that."

"Should I start writing these down?" Issei muttered – and the instant the words left his lips he stiffened, realizing an instant too late that sarcasm might well not be appreciated by a creature like this. For a brief moment, Issei felt panic in his throat as Raphael stopped and turned to look him over.

What shattered this panic was the expression on Raphael's face. He wasn't angry in the slightest, and there was a tiny hint of an upturned smirk on his face. Eyebrow raised, he said, "You and Michael will probably get on quite well."

"Michael?"

"Heaven's leader, of course. "Lord" to you, by the by. That goes for every Seraph, and "Lady" to Gabriel. I don't mind you dropping it with me in private, but not in public."

Issei nodded. "Yes, sir. Though, one other thing before we go..."

"Which is?"

"If Lord Michael is in charge, where does God fit into the picture?"

Raphael's eyes turned downcast at those words, leaving Issei sputtering an apology before the Seraph put his hand up once more.

"No need for apologies, Issei." The Seraph's voice had become heavy. "You were bound to ask or be told sooner or later. I'll just get this out of the way right now: God is not "in the picture" at all. My father is long dead and gone."

Issei's eyes went wide, stunned at this revelation, and for a moment was struck silent. Raphael himself appeared to have stiffened up, as though awaiting something awful that he couldn't possibly prevent.

The newly-christened Jack of Clubs' next words were a stammered, "My... uh... my sympathies-" He didn't get beyond those words before Raphael cut him off with a shake of his head.

"No need for those. It's been over a millennium now. Heaven has had its time to grieve." His previously rigid stance had relaxed once more. "Now that that's out of the way, shall we go?"

The brunette Angel stood and followed Raphael as the Seraph stepped out the door.

* * *

Raphael led Issei down the hall from his office, through the area Issei had originally given the piece of paper to the receptionist at, and through a set of glass doors. Stepping through, the brunette found himself staring out into a wonderfully-maintained field of grass. Dotting it were several trees, underneath the shade of which Issei could make out several Angels. Others flew about or walked along the stone path that led out from the doors.

"So, are you coming?"

Issei's head snapped up to find that Raphael was several steps ahead of him, looking backwards with an eyebrow raised.

"S-sorry!" Issei squeaked as he scampered up behind the Seraph.

A grin creased Raphael's face, but he said nothing before turning and continuing to walk.

* * *

The trek out from the hospital, which Issei could now see was a three-floor building constructed from brick, lasted no more than two minutes before they came to a courtyard. Issei supposed this must be a sort of "entrance", and Issei could see other buildings leading off from it, each designed in a different architectural style. A small number of Angels were here, going from place to place or sitting on the benches scattered about.

None bowed to Raphael, but every single one of them stared for several seconds longer than necessary at the brunette following the Seraph. Issei supposed that wasn't surprising. Raphael, apparently one of Heaven's leadership, had raised a new soul to Heaven's forces. Of course that soul would draw attention. Logic, though, didn't make Issei squirm underneath their gazes any less.

As if sensing his discomfort, Raphael murmured to him without turning around. "Don't worry, Issei. They're just curious. It'll stop soon enough."

Issei nodded, even though Raphael couldn't see it. After, he sucked in a single breath and did everything he could to hold his head up straight.

 _Let them stare. Let them judge._

The thought sounded much braver than the Jack himself felt.

Towards the other side of the courtyard and away from the other buildings, a single structure stood, a word scrawled in characters Issei couldn't read across the top. The structure was small, perhaps fifteen feet by twenty, but what it lacked in area it more than made up for in height. Issei couldn't even see the top of it, it stretched so far into the sky.

There was no door. Instead, just below the letters, a solid metal wall stood, framed by the same white stone the building itself was constructed from.

"The elevator," Raphael said, again without turning around and without being asked.

As Issei began to wonder if the Seraph was psychic, Raphael placed his hand against the metal.

The brunette's eyes widened as the metal reacted instantly to the Seraph's touch, folding unto itself in a way that resembled a sliding door.

"Step inside. Don't worry, it's completely safe."

Issei obeyed the order, following the Seraph into the opening. Raphael's description was completely correct, at least – the room was indeed an elevator, with room for dozens of people. Yet there was no one inside, leaving the enormous room feeling rather unnecessarily spacious.

The room's furnishing was spare at best, with a stone floor and walls. The only thing of note was the console on one side of the room.

The same console Raphael now ushered him to.

As Issei stepped close, Raphael gestured to a black panel on the wall. "Place your hand against that for me, would you? Don't worry, it won't hurt you."

Doing as instructed, Issei remained quiet as Raphael began tapping keys on the console. The teenager could hear the Seraph murmuring to himself as he worked with the computer.

"Name... "Hyoudou, Issei"... Designation... "Jack of Clubs"... In service to Raphael...

After nearly a minute of this, a shiver ripped through Issei's body. Something felt as though it was sucking on his hand for a brief moment, as though trying very weakly to tear the skin off. Then it vanished as quickly as it had started.

"You can remove your hand, Issei," the Seraph said after several seconds. "It's complete."

"What's complete?"

"Your registration. Now, you're free to use this elevator on your lonesome whenever you wish – not that I expect you to do so very often. Teleportation is far more efficient."

"Angels can _teleport_?"

Raphael's eyebrow raised, as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course. How else would we be able to help handle the affairs of the churches the world over?"

"Okay..." Issei said, exhaling slowly and appreciatively. "So then, any other interesting points I ought to know?"

The Seraph shrugged. "Well, you are now photokinetic – meaning you can manipulate light as you wish for both offense and defense as easily as you would move your own hands. Your lifespan will be measured in terms of tens or hundreds of thousands of years. You're also capable of performing magic if you couldn't already do so – your reserves of magical energy are basically average, if you're wondering. You have full access to the system of magic and spells that Heaven employs and have room to evolve and create your own with enough patience. In addition, language barriers no longer apply, meaning you can now converse with anyone in the world without any issue. And before you ask, yes, you can fly using your wings."

Issei's jaw dropped as Raphael listed out the upsides of becoming an Angel, and by the time he finished, Issei could only stammer out one question: "So... so why?"

Raphael's head tipped to one side. "What do you mean?"

"Why... why give _me_ all of that?"

A sigh was the response Raphael gave before he spoke. "You were dying, Issei. Even my own healing magics would not have been enough to save you, and Ddraig made a quiet threat against Heaven if I failed to rescue you. If it means anything, I did cast a small blessing on you before Ddraig spoke – you almost certainly would have been brought to Third Heaven with that vouching for you, unless you were someone utterly horrible before this. Given how much Ddraig wanted me to save you, however, I doubt that that's the case."

"Ddraig?" Issei asked.

"Yes, Ddraig," Raphael said. "You must've made a good impression on him."

"N-no, that's not what I meant. I mean, Ddraig? Who's Ddraig?"

Raphael's eyebrow raised, but his expression hadn't changed otherwise. "Perhaps you haven't heard his name? You might know him better as the Red Dragon Emperor. The spirit of your Sacred Gear?"

"Sacred Gear? Pardon my ignorance, but... what's a Sacred Gear?"

 _Now_ Raphael's expression shifted. Where his face had been calm before, it now twisted into a bewildered expression. "You mean to tell me that you don't even know about your own Sacred Gear?" His voice was incredulous.

"I... I guess so..." Issei said, shrugging helplessly.

Raphael let out a long, slow breath. "Well, that makes things a bit more difficult. Your training, that is. If you didn't know it existed until I just told you, then you've got even more work ahead of you than I'd predicted..." He shook his head. "Well, at least I know sooner, rather than later. My Saints will need that information."

With that, Raphael turned around and walked over to the opposite wall – one that Issei now saw was set up just like a panel in a normal human elevator. Pressing the **1** on the panel, Issei instantly felt himself begin to sink.

* * *

The elevator ride went by in complete silence. Both Angels were too lost in their own thoughts to care much about more conversation.

That all changed when the door opened and Raphael ushered Issei out. What the brunette saw made his jaw drop once more.

In a massive white dome, many miles in diameter, there were huge numbers of buildings, each and every one set on a _cloud_ and linked by an intricate web of paths. Even looking down from his own position, Issei could see other things – an enormous field, several gardens, an amphitheater large enough to hold thousands and who knew what else. And all around those things, hundreds upon hundreds of Angels, some on the ground and some in the air.

"Welcome to First Heaven," Raphael said. "The home of the Brave Saints and the lower-ranking Angels. _Your_ home, at least for now and any time you wish it to be."

"It's beautiful..." Issei murmured, still mesmerized by the sights around him.

"Our Father did have an excellent eye for aesthetic." Raphael smiled. "Now, let us be off. It's time you meet the rest of my deck in their home. Your fellow Saints and your instructors."

Issei took a slow, nervous breath as reality came back and he remembered why he was here. "Yes, sir."

He fell into step behind Raphael.

* * *

As it turned out, the building Raphael's Saints called home was a good half hour's walk from the elevator. And every step of the way, there were more Angels. Some were born, some were Saints like him, but they all were curious about him. A few even stopped Raphael to ask him.

Raphael's response was always the same: "If you want to know, ask him yourself. He's not mute."

And then the whole process would repeat again with the next Angel who asked.

After taking ten minutes longer than it should have to cross the distance, their destination came into view.

The building's exterior was constructed with the aesthetics of a church, with a clerestory roof and a tall spire set dead in its center. It was a single story, but the building was easily eight times the size of Issei's own home.

"Welcome to the building my Saints call home, Issei," Raphael said as he pushed open one of the double doors.

The yawning door led into a lengthy, empty hall. Issei could see that it emptied out ahead, but it was too far away to see exactly what was there. As a result, Issei was left scampering behind Raphael without any idea of where he was going.

Once they had walked down the hall, Issei saw that it emptied into a central gathering room, with a table that could seat twenty dominating the room. From the room, several hallways extended off to other areas that Issei couldn't discern from his current position.

At the table, two men and three women sat quietly, clearly awaiting something.

Then, one of the women noticed them.

"Raphael!"

As the four other heads seated there turned and acknowledged the Seraph's presence, the woman who'd spoken stood from her seat. If Issei had had to guess, he would've judged her to be around thirty. She was quite tall for a woman, easily having four inches on Issei and standing as tall as Raphael himself. Incredibly long hair cascaded from her head, each and every strand a deep mahogany red. As she came closer, Issei also noticed a lengthy white scar down the right side of her face that started just below her eye and continued past her chin. Even dressed in a conservative black outfit that hid everything feminine about her except her hair, she was exceptionally beautiful.

As she came closer, Issei realized she wasn't coming towards Raphael. She was coming towards _him_.

Stopping just a few paces away, the woman smiled as she looked down the difference between them. "And you're the new Jack? What's your name, dear?"

"I-Issei Hyoudou..." the brunette said awkwardly.

The smile widened.

A fraction of an instant later, the woman had closed the distance between them. Then, she slid her arms around him and pulled him into a tight embrace. Issei let out a surprised cry, but the arms didn't release him; if anything, they squeezed even tighter.

"Good to meet you then, Issei Hyoudou," the woman said. "Elizabeth Lanza, Raphael's Queen."

After several more seconds, Elizabeth uncoiled her arms and let Issei free from the sudden hug.

"That was... forward," Issei said. He sounded just as awkward as he had prior, if not more so.

"Well, she's basically the mother of the deck," called one of the two women still seated at the table. The young lady who'd spoken flicked her short, brown hair before pointing at the man across from her. He was black-haired, with a thin beard, and appeared the oldest of anyone there. "Diethelm here is probably the father."

"And what does that make me?" Raphael asked with obvious amusement in his voice.

"The way-too-many-greats-and-borderline-senile-grandfather," the other man still seated at the table replied.

Issei cracked a smile despite himself.

"Now then, Issei," Raphael said, "I think you'd better get a shower and a fresh change of clothes. Second room on the right, wasn't it, Elizabeth?"

"Yes, sir. We left the clothes there."

Raphael nodded and pointed down one of the hallways. "Well then, Issei, I assume you don't need any instruction on how a shower works, and I'd like to speak to the rest of my Saints while you're gone. Get to it."

* * *

Issei walked down the hall, his pace a slow stroll. He took in the thick, wooden doors that lined the corridor, each and every one identical. When he arrived at the one specified, he took a breath and turned the handle.

The room itself was easily thrice the size of his own at home, with a queen size four-poster bed set along one wall. Next to the bed on the side nearer the door, a simple nightstand with a modern digital alarm clock stood, and on the other side, a large wardrobe constructed from stained wood.

Along the opposite wall, there was an enormous bookshelf lined with tomes of varying sizes that ran all the way to the ceiling. To the right of the bookshelf and next to the door, a wooden desk and chair faced the wall.

On the other side of the room, another door stood, on the back of which hung the change of clothes that Elizabeth must have been referring to.

 _Guess that's the bathroom..._

Issei locked the door and pulled off his shoes and socks. Very quickly, a rather vile fragrance began to fill the room as the sweat on them made its presence known, and Issei tossed them into the empty nightstand to sort them out later.

As he sat down on the bed, he felt the softness of the sheets and the mattress, and he let out a happy sigh. He unhurriedly stripped out of his clothes before strolling into the bathroom.

Much like the bedroom, the bathroom was much larger than the one in his own home, but the shower was just as simple. Inside of thirty seconds, the hot water was flowing down Issei's skin.

* * *

When Issei had gone, Raphael turned back to his deck. "So then, what scheme have you concocted? Would anyone like to lead?"

Abigail was the one to put her hand up.

"Well, we've already worked out who'll instruct Issei in what. Diethelm can handle the physical training. Elizabeth can help him with his Sacred Gear. I'll take him through the Bible line by line, make sure he understands all of it. Asteria can help him with magic."

A slight grunt of acknowledgment came from the white-haired woman sitting across from Abigail. As usual, her nose was buried in one of her books.

"And Ridley's volunteered to teach him the mechanisms of the Three Factions, Heaven and the Church."

The red-haired man seated next to Abigail nodded in agreement.

Raphael nodded back. "I see. What then, do you plan to instruct him in for combat?"

"We've talked it over," Elizabeth said, "and we figure... well, we don't think there's much point in trying to train him to use a weapon in close quarters. Not right now, at least. That's the sort of thing that takes years to get really good at barring bizarre supernatural intervention. We think it'd be best if we teach him to get the most out of his light-based abilities – maybe teach him to create his own techniques. Combine that with his Sacred Gear, time and practice and he'll have plenty of power to back himself up with. If he wants to learn how to use a weapon later down the line, then I'm sure we can come to some agreement then."

"If he wants to learn some form of elemental magic, I'm fine with teaching him that," the white-haired woman added.

Raphael nodded. "I see. My thoughts were going down the same route. Though, I must add one small factor into the mix which may derail your plans somewhat."

"What's that, sir?"

"Before I told it to him, Issei Hyoudou did not even know he had a Sacred Gear."

For a moment, the deck was struck silent, none having even considered this possibility. They had all thought surely that if the Red Dragon Emperor himself had stepped in, Issei must have been fully aware of its existence and they had assumed that he would have at least a basic understanding of how it worked. The Red Dragon Emperor was not known to be a particularly kind individual.

It was Ridley who finally broke the silence. "I suppose, then, that we ought to consult the Joker of Heaven, give that he's the only Longinus wielder we have on hand."

Asteria shook her head without looking up. "Every Sacred Gear is different, and every Longinus is vastly dissimilar to every other one, except for Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing to each other. There's not really much Dulio could tell us that we haven't already looked up."

"Quite right," Raphael said.

"I suppose that I'll just have to start him off from the basics, then," Elizabeth said, shrugging. "It's not particularly burdensome for me. I've trained several Sacred Gear users, after all."

"Didn't you train with Dulio when he was younger?" Abigail asked.

"Indeed I did. I taught him some of the basics of controlling his Sacred Gear before he began working with His Eminence Cristaldi. A second Longinus will be rather interesting."

"Please refrain from killing him," Ridley said.

"I've never killed anyone I've trained, nor have I ever caused them anything but exhaustion," Elizabeth said.

"Exhaustion so deep that your trainees _wish_ they were dead," Ridley said.

"How else does one improve stamina?" Elizabeth asked.

"Most people and trainers recommend starting off slow and gradually building up," Asteria replied. "Not running yourself into the ground day after the day the way you tend to do to the people you train."

"I'm no worse than Lady Gabriel's Queen."

"That's a low bar to clear."

Raphael chuckled as he listened to his Saints take harmless snipes at each other. "I don't think we need to be sending my Jack to Griselda. She would probably kill him inside of a day."

"And Mirana would probably send him back with brain damage," Diethelm said. "She prefers to dual wield, after all, and she is not one to exercise restraint when it comes to hitting an opponent in training. I once saw her train a student – he was bruised up and down the sides of his head by the time she was finished with him."

"And Griselda would probably try and get him tossed out of Heaven," Abigail said, twirling her hair. "She's a pretty strict Christian, after all."

"And you're not, Ms. Flying Justice?" Ridley asked dryly.

Abigail's face turned a bright shade of red. " _Ridley!_ They never called me that back home! How many times do I have to tell you! And my beliefs have _some_ flexibility, thank you!"

"That's obvious," Asteria said, still not having looked up from her book. "Dragons are said to be sinful, after all, and yet you're the biggest Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing-obsessive the church has ever seen."

"Shut up, Blaster Master."

Asteria's face twisted into an annoyed look. "And no one in the church but you ever called _me_ that, you little hypocrite."

"I'm taller than you."

"In height, perhaps, but not in character."

"She said, implying she has any personality beyond being a bookworm."

"Seemed to be enough for you."

As the Queen, Ten, Nine and Eight continued tossing insults back and forth, the Ace looked at Raphael and sighed.

It was but another day among the Saints of Raphael.

* * *

After Issei had finished his shower and dressed, he wandered back out to the group to find them all deep in discussion. Or, at least, that's what it appeared like at first.

When he actually got close enough to make out what was being heard, however, he realized that he'd missed nothing of value. The Saints weren't waiting for him, that was for sure. Issei knew that by the insults he heard being heaved back and forth, even if it was always done with a smile from both the one doing the insulting and the receiver of the barb.

A few seconds after the brunette arrived, Raphael cleared his throat, and his Saints fell silent in an instant.

"Now then," Raphael said, "if your plan is in place, then I think it best if you get acquainted. Perhaps take Issei on a tour of Heaven and start on the Bible once you're finished? It's already mid-afternoon. Don't waste more time. Have a good day, all of you!"

With that, Raphael's form began to shift, glowing brilliantly for a moment, before his body began to change shape. Before Issei's amazed eyes, the Seraph's form compressed into pure light in the shape of a cross.

Then, it vanished, leaving the space where Raphael had been standing completely empty.

Issei's eyes swept back over the rest of the Saints seated at the table, and he pointed incredulously at the empty space where Raphael had been as he did so. Before he could speak, however, Elizabeth filled him in.

"Our method of teleportation. Quite a beautiful thing to witness, wouldn't you say?"

Issei's arm dropped. "Well... Lord Raphael did mention that... I just... uh..."

"Didn't expect it to look like that?"

"Pretty much."

Elizabeth smiled. "Oh, don't worry. Asteria will teach you how to do it."

"Indeed," said the white-haired woman seated at the table, nose _still_ in her book.

"On that note, perhaps it's time we get around to introducing ourselves," Elizabeth said. "We have your name, of course, and you already have mine." She looked down the table to the rest of the Saints. "Well?"

The black-haired man was the first to speak. "Diethelm Waldseemüller, Lord Raphael's Ace."

The brunette woman raised her hand. "Abigail Canary, Lord Raphael's Nine."

Without bothering to look at him, the white-haired woman spoke. "Asteria Stavros, Lord Raphael's Ten."

The red-haired man spoke up last. "Ridley Ashworth, Lord Raphael's Eight."

"Noticing a pattern here," Issei murmured. "Err... good to meet all of you, I mean."

"A pleasure," Elizabeth replied.

"So, is this all of you, or are there others?"

"This is Raphael's deck as it currently exists," Ridley explained. "I've heard, however, that our King has his eye on someone from Quebec to the take the position of his Six."

"Quebec? That's in Canada, right?"

"Yeah," Abigail said. "Heck, I'm from Arkansas in the United States."

"I am German," Diethelm said.

"Spanish," Elizabeth said.

"Greek," Asteria added.

"English," Ridley stated.

"Japanese," Issei said, pointing to himself. "I, uh... I guess Heaven's Saints are from all over the place?"

"You'd be right on that one," Ridley said.

"And they're all some brand of Christian?"

"Real scholar, aren't you?" Asteria asked dryly, leaving Issei with an annoyed look on his face.

"Well then, I suppose I ought to -" Issei started to say, before being cut off by Elizabeth.

"Tell us you weren't?" Elizabeth asked with a knowing smile. "Issei, Raphael already told us. He does try to keep us informed of these things."

"It's not likely to be an issue, either," Ridley added. "As long as you can play the part of the faithful Angel and Christian when you're interacting with the church and believers, Issei, you not actually believing in Christianity shouldn't cause you any problems. Though I'd keep that last bit quiet whenever the Queen of Hearts is around."

"Queen of Hearts?"

"Griselda Quarta," the Eight clarified. "She's Lady Gabriel's Queen and one of her only two Saints. A _very_ strict believer. She'll probably have a conniption fit if she finds you out anytime soon." He smiled. "Don't worry, though – she's not allowed to exile you from Heaven herself."

Issei nodded, feeling a small bit of relief that this was the case. Then, his gut knotted up.

"You were talking about interacting with the church?"

The Saints all nodded, but Abigail was the one to speak. "It's part of our job as Angels, Issei. Most of it's pretty mundane – doing things like taking confessions, record keeping, teaching small classes and the like, though it gets more... violent at times. Don't worry, you won't be doing that right away. We'll teach you everything you need to know."

Issei nodded again. "Thanks."

"Oh, no problem," Abigail replied. "We _are_ the troubleshooters and problem-fixers of Heaven, after all."

With that, Elizabeth stood. "Well then, now that we've finished the introductions, I think it's time we show our new comrade around Heaven, wouldn't you say?"

* * *

 _And cut_.


	3. Wandering Heaven

_I do not own Highschool DxD._

* * *

"Where are we going, exactly?" Issei asked as he followed Elizabeth down the hall that lead of the building. "Where in Heaven, I mean? Just First Heaven or-"

"I might as well show you the first five levels," Elizabeth said as she stepped out the front door and motioned for Issei to follow her. "I'd take you flying, but you don't know how to do that yet." She smiled. "Don't worry about that. We'll teach you."

Issei nodded. "Thanks, Elizabeth. Means a lot. Really..." Issei felt the awkwardness of his tone creeping through his veins.

"Oh, no trouble at all!" the Queen said as they began to walk down one of the paths that lead away from the Clubs building. "Truly, I can't wait to see how your skillset evolves. I've trained a number of Sacred Gear users, but yours is even more interesting than most."

"Yeah... you know that-"

"You didn't know about your own Sacred Gear?" Elizabeth finished.

"Uh... yeah. That."

The maroon-haired Angel waved her hand. "Nothing to worry about! If the spirit of your Sacred Gear – Ddraig, that's his name – spoke to Raphael, that means it's awake, at the very least. Though I'd guess talking with him will have to come later, once you've got a better handle on how to activate and use it."

Issei nodded, exhaling and trying to let his nervousness melt away as he soaked in the sights of First Heaven.

* * *

"This is the training and exhibition field," Elizabeth said. Her hand swept over the interior of the building before them. "You'll be seeing a lot of this place, I'm sure. Angels and Brave Saints come here frequently to polish their skills, test new techniques and the like, as you can see right now."

They'd been walking for quite a while, wandering throughout First Heaven and seeing the sights. The building they were in now was much like the interior of a basketball court, rectangular in shape, though far larger and with a stone floor rather than wood. On either of the longer sides of the room, there were a set of elevated stands, lacking seats, where some might come to observe those below, though they stood empty at the moment. At the other end of the room from where Issei and Elizabeth currently stood, there was another, smaller set of stands that stood a good deal higher; Issei could only assume those were VIP seats or the like.

In the middle of the field, currently smashing his fists against a few training dummies that had been set up, was a teenager about Issei's age. His face was flecked with sweat, but he appeared to be having the time of his life, his spiky golden hair bouncing with the thrusts of his fists.

"Come on," Elizabeth said as she strode forwards. "Might as well meet some of the other Saints." Issei dutifully scampered along behind her.

When the boy who was punching the dummies looked up and noticed the two Saints striding towards them, his face broke into an ear-to-ear grin, and he immediately stopped what he was doing to walk over to them.

"Hey, Elizabeth!"

"Good afternoon, Nero," the maroon-haired woman said.

Almost immediately, Nero spotted Issei walking behind her, and stepped around to stand a few feet from Issei.

"You the new Saint I've heard about?" Nero asked, hand extended.

"Uh, yeah," Issei said, shaking his hand. "Issei Hyoudou, Lord Raphael's Jack."

"Nero Raimondi, Lord Uriel's Ace," the teenager said, shaking his hand enthusiastically. "Great to see a new face up here! Haven't heard your name before, but the church is pretty big, so that doesn't mean much!"

"Yeah, I suppose," Issei said, trying to sound energetic. "So, uh, where are you from?"

"Doesn't the name give it away?" Nero replied, though his face was set in a grin. "Naples, Italy, though."

Issei nodded. "Kuoh, Japan."

"I'll admit that I've got no clue where that is, but you probably don't know where Naples is, either, so I guess we can call it even!" Nero broke into laughter at this for a few moments before calming back down. After shaking his head once, he spoke again. "So, which denomination?"

"Huh?"

Nero frowned. "Which denomination of the church? I mean, I was Roman Catholic. Which one were you? Protestant? Roman Catholic? Orthodox? Baptist? One of a hundred others I've heard about from Abigail?"

"I... uh... well..." Issei stammered. "This is going to sound weird, but..."

"But what?" Nero asked.

"...I wasn't actually part of the church. Never even went into one before I was reincarnated, actually."

The moment Issei said this, Nero's expression turned dark. "Well, I suppose you _were_ at the very least a believer, right?"

"Afraid not."

Nero's hands balled into fists, and his face suddenly turned _very_ angry. His face swung towards Elizabeth, standing off to the side. "So where did your King scrape this one up?"

Elizabeth's face was set in a hard line. "Wrath, Nero Raimondi, is a deadly sin. And besides that, if Lord Raphael calls him his Brave Saint, you will do so as well."

"He doesn't deserve his place in our ranks," Nero shot back, but his tone wasn't as confident as one might expect. "He probably doesn't know the first thing about fighting or our faith. He's useless to us."

"Which are the things that Lord Raphael's deck have set about a plan to remedy," Elizabeth countered easily. "I will hear no more insults directed towards Issei Hyoudou, Nero Raimondi." Her tone, which just moments ago had been warm and friendly, was now frigid. "Whatever your King's thoughts about Issei's resurrection, I have little doubt he will discipline you should he hear about what you have said today."

Nero's eyes fell, but he didn't apologize before stalking back to the dummies. As he watched the Ace go, a tiny flame of anger burned away inside Issei.

 _I'll show_ _ **you**_ _useless..._

It was right then and there that Issei found his motive. Perhaps it wasn't the one Raphael or his fellows among the deck would have wanted, but a drive was a drive all the same.

That wasn't to say he was going to walk over there and start attacking Nero right here and now; there was no doubt that Nero was a far more experienced combatant than he. Issei knew that he wasn't ready yet. But he decided as he looked at the Ace punch the dummies that he would make sure it wasn't long before he could play with Nero like a cat played with string.

Nodding to himself, he turned to follow Elizabeth as they left to continue exploring First Heaven.

* * *

Stepping off the elevator, Issei wondered for a moment if the lights in Second Heaven weren't working. That lasted, of course, until Elizabeth closed the elevator door behind them and directed his attention upwards.

"Second Heaven is where we come to observe the stars," Elizabeth said. Her hand swept towards the sky and pinpoints of light set within them. "This is the sky as the Vatican sees it – or as they might if there weren't lights everywhere."

"Quite pretty," Issei said, looking up and seeing Orion's belt. "Guess it's a nice change from the bright lights in First Heaven."

"Oh, indeed it is," Elizabeth said. She grinned. "Though I'd make sure to let your eyes adjust in the elevator before you step out into First or Third Heaven again. I've made that mistake – you'll be blind for several minutes if you don't."

"Thanks for the tip..." Issei said as his eyes spied something else.

A quarter mile or so away, tucked into the gloom, was a large structure built of black stone. Curiously, he pointed towards it.

"What's that, exactly? Maintenance?"

"The prison."

Issei's head flipped back to Raphael's Queen at the tone of her response, which had turned quite serious once again. It had gone back to her normal friendliness as soon as they had left the training building and stayed that way for the three-quarters of an hour they had spent as Elizabeth showed him the many relevant buildings in First Heaven.

"There's a prison in Heaven?" Issei asked.

"Indeed," Elizabeth said. "If an Angel is found to have committed some crime or falls within Heaven, they are forcibly locked within that building." She pointed at the structure as she said this. "There are a number of spells and seals over that area, all of which prevent _any_ form of teleportation in our out and suppress the use of magic. Once you go into one of the cells in there, you don't leave until the Seraphs say so – and you probably won't like where you go after that, either."

Issei gulped. "So, uh... stay out at all costs, basically?" He didn't bother to ask what "Falling" was about; he was sure that he'd be told that later.

"Essentially. Come, there is little else to see here." Elizabeth turned back to the elevator, the door opening almost instantly.

* * *

When the elevator door opened once more, Issei blinked once or twice at what entered his vision.

In front of him, there appeared to be a building... with a tree growing around it. Confused, he followed Elizabeth's stride out of the elevator.

The sunlight struck his face, but Issei was too busy being awestruck by what he saw around him to feel the warmth it gave off. He'd thought First Heaven was beautiful, but this floor beat that one all ends up. Walking slowly towards the balcony the elevator spilled out onto and leaning on the rail, Issei took in the sights around him.

Beneath, above and surrounding him as far as the eye could see, Issei saw Third Heaven.

The sky was a purer blue than anything he had ever seen back home, and into its embrace reached immense buildings constructed of materials that Issei would have wagered had no similarity to anything Earth had to offer. Beneath them, the streets gleamed, mixing with beautiful vegetation of a thousand kinds. Trees encircled buildings without crushing them, flowers grew up through the stones in a loving chaos that somehow felt perfectly right.

And in this city-like expanse, Issei could see the people.

They were of every age, sex, race and nationality. At least a few within the Jack's sight didn't even seem to be human, and Issei's breath vanished when he spotted what was very distinctly a _dragon_ sleeping atop one of the buildings. A number were gathered around a long table set upon another balcony in the middle of what was clearly a feast. A group of children were darting among the trees behind the building, playing a game.

That was when Issei remembered exactly how Raphael had described this place.

"Third Heaven's the resting place," Issei murmured.

"Quite so," Elizabeth said. "The souls of the faithful have been brought here, and it's our job to protect them for eternity. Know this, Issei Hyoudou – you must never do anything to endanger Third Heaven, ever. They are Heaven's first and last priority."

As Issei nodded, the dragon perched on the building across from them moved. When the Angels turned to look, the dragon's wings spread wide, its silver scales and blue wings glinting in the sunlight. It looked down at the Angels on the balcony, first passing over Elizabeth before fixating on Issei.

The brunette swallowed as he realized the dragon's stare wasn't breaking.

After a few moments, the dragon leaped off the building and caught the wind, flapping slowly as it came to hover just feet from the two.

Issei gulped as he caught the full size of its body; it was easily twenty-five meters from nose to tail, and its massive head could have swallowed Issei lengthwise. Issei tried to step back, only for Elizabeth's arm to hold him steady.

"Now, now, don't be rude. Hraesvelgr won't harm you."

"Hraesvelgr?" Issei asked as his eyes darted back and forth between Elizabeth and the immense dragon.

 **"It is indeed so."**

Issei's eyes turned to face the immense dragon now staring him through the face.

"Uh... I-I don't mean t-to offend..." Issei stuttered, "but... I-I don't know your name..."

A deep, booming laugh echoed into Issei's ears. **"You cause no offense, Angel. The name I bear has likely never entered your ears. Yet you possess an aura most familiar to my senses."**

Elizabeth smiled. "Unsurprising. Issei Hyoudou is the current Red Dragon Emperor, reincarnated only yesterday."

"Wait, what?" Issei asked, spinning to look at Elizabeth momentarily. "Red Dragon Emperor?"

Another booming laugh escaped the immense dragon. **"Thus is the truth revealed. I shall not delay you further."** The dragon's blue-gray eye suddenly winked at Issei. **"Grow mighty, Red Dragon Emperor, and fell the White One in Heaven's name."**

A moment later, the dragon had flown out of sight.

* * *

"What the heck was all that about?" Issei asked Elizabeth as they entered the elevator. "I get that Third Heaven is where the souls of the dead are, but a _dragon_? And what's this about me being the "Red Dragon Emperor"? Lord Raphael mentioned that, but it wasn't referring to me. And what's this "White One" that dragon was talking about?"

"One question at a time, Issei," the Queen of Clubs said as she pressed the button for the fourth floor. "This will take some explanation."

"We've got time," Issei said.

"That we do," Elizabeth said. She took a long, slow breath, as though lining up thoughts in her head. "More than a thousand years ago, Issei Hyoudou... there was a war between the Angels, Devils and Fallen Angels." She put a hand up. "The Devils and Fallen are not the important subject in this. What is that this war is ultimately what killed God and killed a massive number of Heaven's Angels. This is why the Brave Saints exist – to help rebuild Heaven's forces, though it was created less than a year ago due to a lack of materials required to create them. Since the end of the war, the Three Factions, as they are known, have been at something like a truce, though small-scale conflicts are still frequent."

At this point, the elevator stopped moving, but neither Saint stepped out.

"The point is, during the war, much of the supernatural world picked sides, including a number of dragons. Some went to the Devils, some to the Fallen, and some, such as Hraesvelgr, stood with God. Hraesvelgr, if you must know, is mentioned in the myths of the Norse, but they don't seem to miss him. He was killed not long before the end of the war. Those who stood with us to battle back the other two Factions were rewarded as any believer would be, as God believed this to only be fair. As a result, there are a number of creatures, including a few Devils who renounced their allegiances, who dwell within Heaven alongside humans."

"And these 'Dragon Emperors'?"

"The Red and White Dragon Emperors were a pair of immensely strong dragons – known as the "Heavenly Dragons" - who were utterly obsessed with battling one another relentlessly. The short version of the story is that during the last battle of the war, the Red and White Dragon Emperors, locked into a battle with each other and caring nothing for the Three Factions, happened to crash through. Beneath them, an immense battle was raging. No one's sure who struck at the Dragon Emperors first, and it doesn't matter. What does is that the two _immediately_ entered Outrage – a state where a dragon's strength increases dramatically, and retaliated against the Three Factions. They were defeated and sealed, but it all but annihilated the Three Factions to do so. The Fallen, the Devils and Heaven's forces were all but annihilated. Fewer than ten thousand Angels survived the war."

"And this "Red Dragon Emperor" is sealed inside of _me_?" Issei asked, jaw agape.

"That's right," Elizabeth said, a wry smile coming to her face.

* * *

After a few minutes went by and Issei's legs stopped feeling like jelly, they finally stepped out of the elevator and into Fourth Heaven, the Garden of Eden.

Almost immediately...

 _Holy crap it smells good..._

Currently assaulting Issei's olfactory organs was a concoction of wonderful scents, almost all of fruits. Looking around, Issei could see the source.

It wasn't called the "Garden of Eden" without a very literal reason, as it turned out. Issei could see a number of animals of all types milling about, but what really drew his attention were the numerous fruit-bearing trees and plants, all hanging ripe.

No orchard on Earth could produce the kinds of scents these trees did. It was obvious that something else was involved to make them do that – Issei guessed some form of magic.

"Elizabeth!"

At the sound of the name being shouted, Issei looked up.

There, leaning against one of the trees a hundred feet or so away, was a blonde-haired young man dressed in the sort of clothes Issei thought a priest might wear. As Issei and Elizabeth drew closer, he could see that the figure had a half-eaten apple in his hand.

"Ah, Dulio!" Elizabeth called as they approached. "I suppose it's no surprise you're here..." Her lips turned up in a mischievous smile.

"And just what's _that_ supposed to mean?" the blonde man, evidently named Dulio, asked before taking another huge bite out of his apple.

"Oh come now," Elizabeth replied. "You eat more than anyone else in Heaven, and the fruit here does taste rather wonderful."

Dulio swallowed. "Point taken." He nodded towards Issei. "Hello." His tone was friendly, but Issei quickly reminded himself that Nero had been, too, until he found out about his lack of faith. Dulio looked from Elizabeth to Issei and back again several times before he smiled. "Let me guess, you're Lord Raphael's newly-chosen Jack?"

"Yeah," Issei said.

The man extended his hand. "Dulio Gesualdo, Lord Michael's Joker, at your service."

Issei took it. "Issei Hyoudou."

Dulio frowned – not in an unfriendly way, but in such a way as to express mild confusion. "Hmm... haven't heard your name before."

Issei exhaled, mentally preparing himself for another person to insult him. "That's probably because I wasn't a member of the Church before this..."

"Ah."

The brunette blinked as Dulio took another bite of his apple. "That's it?"

Dulio shrugged, and when he swallowed, he spoke again. "Well, sure. Were you expecting another reaction?" His tone hadn't shifted, instead remaining friendly and warm.

"Err... yeah, kind of..."

An eyebrow raised. "Why?"

"Issei," Elizabeth interjected, "happened to have the unfortunate luck to encounter Nero Raimondi whilst I was showing him around First Heaven, and Nero, as we well know, is... more stubborn in his beliefs than most. Tossed several insults Issei's way."

Dulio shook his head, an annoyed look taking shape on his handsome features. "Ignore him, Issei. Lord Raphael must have picked you for a reason, faithful or not. Just serve Heaven well, okay? Get strong if you aren't already." The Joker offered a smile as he reached up and plucked another apple from the lowest branch.

"And might I ask what you're doing?"

All three of their heads snapped towards the new female voice that had joined their group of four, emanating from behind the tree. From around the right side stepped a woman.

Issei's jaw dropped.

This woman... _holy crap,_ she was beautiful! She wore a simple robe, one which did virtually nothing to disguise her perfectly-proportioned body. Behind her left ear, she wore a white orchid that accentuated a flawless face. And her chest...

Issei felt an unpleasant sensation suddenly stab through his back as he looked at the woman, snapping him out of his second haze inside five minutes. Reaching around to paw at his back, there was no problem that he could detect, and yet Issei was fully convinced that the sensation was real. It wasn't _pain_ , exactly, but it was thoroughly unpleasant all the same.

"Oh?" the woman said, stepping a few paces closer to Issei with a grin just as mischievous as Elizabeth's, if not more so, adorning her features. "Is someone having some lecherous thoughts about me right now?" She patted his shoulder, causing her... _assets_ to bounce slightly. Instantly, the stabbing sensation came back in full force.

Dulio and Elizabeth, meanwhile, had each fallen to their knees, and it was then that the woman turned her head to address them. "You may both rise."

As they did so, Elizabeth shot a rather nervous glance at Issei.

"Issei, before you get any thoughts in your head... you should probably know that that's Lady Gabriel."

"Err... who?"

"One of the Four Great Seraphim of Heaven," Dulio supplied.

Instantly, Issei had fallen to his knees and spluttering out apologies in a blind panic as he prostrated himself in front of her, begging forgiveness.

A moment later, a hand hooked itself under his arm and pulled him up again.

"On your feet, you," Gabriel said as she hauled him to his feet. "You have some sinful desires. Just keep them under control and don't act on them, okay? They'll go away in time." Her mischievous smile turned innocent for a moment as she brought her finger up, held back by her thumb. "Bad Angel."

Then, she gently flicked his forehead and Issei found himself right back where he'd been.

Gabriel turned and reached up to grab another fruit. Daintily, she twisted the stem until it snapped, barely bending the branch.

Once it had separated, she turned around and extended that same arm.

"You two... at least offer him an apple!"

Awkwardly, Issei took it. "Th-thanks..."

"You're welcome. Issei Hyoudou, right?"

"Yes... my Lady..."

She nodded. "Good to meet you, then. I'll be leaving, however... a Seraph's work never ends..."

With that, she went around the back of the tree.

* * *

Gabriel checked once that she was around the thick tree and that none of the three Saints could see her.

Then, as she teleported out, she allowed herself to break down laughing.

* * *

Issei tried to eat the apple slowly, he really did. But once he'd bitten into the thing... he just couldn't stop! It was the sweetest and most delicious fruit he'd ever tasted, and that combined with the hunger that until now he'd barely noticed caused him to demolish the rest of the edible fruit in just a few bites. It was plumper and juicer than most steaks, and just firm enough to produce a satisfying crunch without being an annoyance to bite into.

Once he'd finished and wiped the stray bit of juice that had spilled off of his chin, he looked up to find the Joker and Queen smiling at him.

"Is someone a bit hungry?" Dulio asked.

"A little bit, yeah..." Issei replied sheepishly.

"Perhaps we ought to get some food into you back in the Clubs building," Elizabeth said. "Judging by what you just did to that apple, I think you'd eat half the Garden in your state."

Dulio shrugged. "These fruits grow back in hours, anyway. It's not like it matters much."

Elizabeth shook her head. "Besides that, I have other things I need to show him and finish our tour of the first five floors. And then there's the fact that Raphael would like for him to start his study of the Bible tonight."

Dulio's head rocked back and forth, as if considering her words, before shrugging a second time. "Well, put it that way, it makes sense." He plucked his third apple and began chowing down. After his second bite, he looked up one more time. "Oh, and Issei?"

"Yeah?"

"Welcome to the deck of the Brave Saints."

* * *

Fifth Heaven, thankfully, was a good deal less eventful than the previous few floors had been, and having a good deal less that he was allowed to see to begin with sped things up even more. There was the research facility, the hospital Issei had awakened in, a building that Elizabeth had identified as being investigations-related, and a small smattering of others.

Within twenty minutes, they'd turned and gone back the way they came.

* * *

As Elizabeth and Issei walked into the Clubs building, both became very acutely aware of the distinct smell of tomato sauce emanating from the central dining and meeting room.

"Well, it seems we've had some time saved for us," Elizabeth said.

Sure enough, when they walked into the main room, they were greeted by an enormous bowl of pasta, with the expected tomato sauce and several large meatballs set into it. Surrounding it were the other Saints... and Raphael himself.

"Good evening, sir," Elizabeth said confidently as she strode in, Issei practically hiding behind her. "Will you be joining us, then?"

"Indeed. I feel it's only appropriate that the entire deck share my newest Saint's first meal in Heaven." He gave Issei a friendly nod as he said this.

"Sorry it's nothing more elaborate," Abigail said. "I, uh... I'm not an amazing cook and there wasn't much I could whip up a lot of on short notice..."

"It's more than sufficient, Abigail," Diethelm said.

"Hope it tastes as good as it smells," Ridley said as Elizabeth and Issei took seats at the table.

"Hopefully it's actually hot this time," Asteria commented, causing Abigail to shoot her a smoldering look.

"Oh come on!" the Nine said. "I'm not an amazing cook, but I do know how to make sure something's hot! And it was _Ridley_ who cooked the last time!"

"And you were late getting back, rendering the food cold," Asteria replied.

"If I may interrupt," Raphael said, "I'd ask that you save the banter for later." He sent an amused glance at Issei. "Your fellow Saint looks about ready to eat his plate."

"Let us say grace, then," Diethelm said, clearly as eager to eat as the Jack himself. He looked over at Issei. "You needn't worry about this step, Issei. You're not a believer, and thus I won't make you act as one in private."

"Err... no, that doesn't make sense," Issei said. "If I'm going to have to _pretend_ to be, might as well know how it all works."

"Uh, Issei?" Abigail said. "This might be a good time to mention that just about every denomination has its own variation on the prayer. I probably don't say the same grace as Diethelm and he probably says a different grace to Elizabeth."

"For once, Ms. Flying Justice is right," Asteria commented.

"And as always, Blaster Master can't keep her mouth shut," Abigail retorted.

"Enough."

It was Raphael who'd spoken, and the tiny hint of authority in his voice was all that was needed to make the two ladies retreat back to their corners. As the other Angels bowed their heads, Issei followed the motion, though he had no idea what it was they murmured beneath their breath.

After a few moments, their heads rose, and they began to quietly pass out the pasta.

* * *

Issei turned out to have been even hungrier than he'd imagined. He demolished two full plates of the pasta (though there was still plenty more where that came from), which tasted wonderful on his tongue. He barely spoke during the meal, with his mouth being so full of food all the time.

At one point, Asteria had dryly commented on Issei being a glutton, earning a laugh from everyone except the Jack, who wasn't listening to begin with.

Once he'd finally put his fork down, wiped his mouth and looked up, Issei carefully laid the knife and fork he'd used on his plate.

"Thank you, Abigail," he said, going out of his way to be as polite and formal about it as possible.

"Oh, no problem," the Nine said. "My pleasure that you liked it so much!"

Once the rest of the deck had finished their plates and confirmed that they wouldn't be going for any more, Abigail swooped in to clean up, clearing the table in the time it would have taken Issei to pick up three plates. Then, she grabbed the remains of the meal to store away.

The entire process took less than two minutes.

Once she was done and had returned to the room, Raphael spoke again as he stood up.

"On your feet, all of you. We'll now do what we discussed."

"Yes, sir," came four of the reincarnated Angels, a moment before their wings and halos all appeared and red symbols began to glow on the backs of their hands.

"Now then," Raphael said, his own dozen wings spread wide, "Issei, Elizabeth, I'd like you both to do the same."

Not knowing what exactly was going on, the two obeyed.

Now with the full Angelic forms of all present on full display, Raphael nodded towards Issei.

"This is part of the reason I gathered all of my Saints here, Issei – we would like to see if you can manifest your Sacred Gear, and I think it should be easier if you're in a place with as much power as there is here."

"Manifest?" Issei asked, confused.

"The Boosted Gear manifests physically in the real world in order to be used," Raphael explained. "Not all Sacred Gears have this attribute. Case in point, Elizabeth, Diethelm and Ridley's Sacred Gears."

Issei's head turned to look at the Ace, Queen and Eight. "You're all Sacred Gear holders too?"

Three heads nodded.

"Axiom Divergence," Elizabeth said.

"Holy Resuscitation," Diethelm said.

"Stardust Shield," Ridley finished.

"Now, now," Raphael said. "He has no idea what any of those names mean, and it's not particularly relevant right now." He shook his head as he looked at his Queen. "Perhaps you can put this into better words than I can, Elizabeth."

The Queen nodded. "Issei, to manifest your Sacred Gear, focus on the concept of power and your desire to manifest it. I assume you _do_ want to know what it looks like, right?"

Issei nodded.

"Good," Elizabeth said. "Now, shut your eyes and focus on it. Focus as hard as you can."

Issei obeyed.

For five, ten, fifteen seconds, he focused, straining his will with every bit of his strength. He thought of everything that exemplified power to him – from the superhero shows he used to watch to explosives to flames, and he focused on the thought of that and something manifesting.

His brow furrowed steadily as he did this.

 _Come on... come on..._

Just when he was about to give up and open his eyes, a green glow blasted through his eyelids for a fraction of a moment, and the gasps of his fellows could be heard.

Issei's eyes snapped open, and he saw the source.

Where his left arm had been, there was now an enormous, red gauntlet, set with green gems and a pair of golden claws.

* * *

 _And cut._

 _It's stated in Volume 3 that some dragons sided with God, and it's later shown that Cleria Belial (a Devil) made it to Heaven. It's not that weird that some non-human entities besides her ended up there._

 _Second: I'm fully aware that in the original myths, Hraesvelgr is an eagle rather than a dragon. If you're going to take issue with the change, then you should also take issue with Apophis, Grendel and Crom Cruach being dragons._


	4. Honing of Body and Mind

_So yeah, I remembered that this story existed._

 _I do not own Highschool DxD._

 _Before we start, you should probably know that I removed the initial words of Ddraig from the last chapter._

* * *

For nearly ten seconds, Issei stared down at the gauntlet that had replaced his left hand with wide eyes. His thoughts ran a million miles an hour as he recalled what Elizabeth had said to him, and he realized that he might be looking down at the last shard of the Red Dragon Emperor that remained in the physical realm.

Yet when he looked up, eyes appearing rather more panicked than he had intended, he saw nothing but pleased expressions on the faces of his fellows.

"There we are," Elizabeth said as she patted him on the shoulder. "Now that you've manifested it once, it should be vastly easier to do it again."

"Really?" Issei asked.

The mahogany-haired woman nodded before shooting a dry look at Abigail. "Now then, Abby, I'd ask that you _not_ come running over here and start yanking our newest Saint's arm about."

Abigail's face turned bright red at that. " _Elizabeth!_ How many times do I have to tell you to not call me "Abby"! And I wasn't going to do that!"

Elizabeth chuckled. "Oh, you are too easy to tease." She turned to look at Issei again. "I don't think it's a necessity that we have you use it right here and now. Can we all agree on that?"

Heads nodded, including Raphael's.

"Excellent," Elizabeth said. "Just deactivate it, Issei. We'll get plenty of discussion of Sacred Gears in when I'm training you to use it and its attributes. To do that, just focus your will on it being gone."

Issei did so, and to his surprise the gauntlet obeyed instantly, dissolving off of his arm and leaving only his bare skin.

Elizabeth nodded. "Well then, now that that's all settled, I think it's time that you and Abigail start on the Bible, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, that would be best," Raphael said. "The Bible is a rather thick book, after all."

"Uh... Lord Raphael?" Issei asked.

"Yes, Issei?" the Seraph replied, tipping his head as he looked at Issei. "Something you need?"

"Is there... uh... anywhere we could talk, just you and me? I need to ask you about something..."

"Of course," Raphael said. He gestured to behind Issei. When the brunette turned to follow his King's motions, he saw something he hadn't noticed prior.

A hallway lead away from the central gathering hall of the building, opposite the one that lead towards the Saint's bedrooms.

"In that direction is my spare office," Raphael explained. "We can speak there. I've some things I must take care of tonight, so let's discuss your topic immediately." He turned to look at Abigail. "Meet Issei out here after we're finished in my office. Then, no more distractions or delays – start on the Bible."

"Yes, sir!" Abigail said.

With that, Raphael nodded and began striding down the hallway he'd indicated before, leaving Issei scampering to keep up and the rest of the Saints to filter out.

* * *

The hallway wasn't particularly long, despite the ninety degree bend it took to its right. A few paces beyond the turn sat a large wooden door upon which Raphael promptly laid his hand.

"One moment, Issei. I must break the seals that hold this place shut."

When Issei raised an eyebrow at him, the Seraph grinned. "I must ensure that I don't walk in to find all of my pens gone. I understand that they have a tendency to vanish to other dimensions whilst in use by Brave Saints."

Issei snorted, but couldn't keep a small smirk off his face.

After a moment, Raphael pulled his hand back and gave a twist of the golden handle. It turned without the slightest squeak, and the Seraph pulled the door wide.

Issei blinked as a perfectly normal office was revealed. It was a somewhat cramped space, dominated by a large desk, but what it lacked in space it more than made up for in organization – his own desk at home wasn't a tenth this orderly, and this desk had far more items on it than Issei's own.

Raphael took a seat in the brown leather swivel chair behind the desk and ushered Issei to stand opposite to him before lacing his fingers together, elbows on the table.

"What was it you wanted to speak to me about?"

Issei scratched the back of his head. "Sir, I... wanted to know if there's any way I could get back to my home town. Kuoh, I mean."

"You got me alone just to ask me _that_?" Raphael asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well... sir, I, uh... I didn't want..."

Raphael's mouth twisted into a half-grin. "You were afraid it would come off wrong to the others?"

"Basically..." Issei admitted, his eyes turning downwards.

The Seraph's hand came up and waved dismissively. "No worries about that, Issei. They'd certainly understand. I assume your family's rather worried about your safety. However..." Raphael's brow furrowed. "There's a small issue standing in the way of that."

"What's that, sir? I can come back anytime you need me-"

"No, no, no," Raphael said, cutting Issei off. "It's nothing to do with you personally. Well, it is and isn't simultaneously. It has to do with you being an Angel rather than you yourself." Raphael folded his hands in front of himself. "That town is run by a Devil."

Issei's eyebrows raised. "Elizabeth mentioned them..."

"Did she explain them in any detail?"

"Not really, sir. She was giving me an overview of the war between the factions and just skimmed over the Devils - and the Fallen Angels, for that matter."

Raphael nodded. "Well, let me close that gap in your knowledge. Devils are the creatures in opposition to Angels and Fallen Angels, the natural inhabitants of the realm humans call "Hell". As Angels seek humanity's faith, Devils tempt humans to form pacts with them, and seek to increase their standing through these pacts. As well, Devils are capable of reincarnating other beings into Devils, just as Angels can do to other races. Just as I did to you, Issei."

"And the Fallen Angels, sir?"

"They're Angels who have 'fallen', as they've indulged in sin or committed actions deemed criminal by Heaven. The Fallen possess feathered wings like yours or mine, Issei, but theirs are black, and they lack the halo of light above their heads."

At this, Issei flinched.

Yuuma had had feathered, black wings...

"Something the matter, Issei?"

Issei shook his head. "No sir, I'm fine."

Raphael didn't look entirely convinced, but he continued on with his explanation. "As I was saying, the Fallen Angel's sins have forced them into Hell, and as a result, direct competition with the Devils. It's widely thought among the Angels that that's what started the war. While it _is_ possible for a Fallen Angel to be redeemed and rejoin the ranks of Heaven, such a thing is incredibly rare. It is extremely difficult to prove that you have reformed yourself as thoroughly as is demanded. It's an extremely lengthy and involved process, usually requiring many years. I can think of perhaps three Angels in Heaven who were once Fallen. Needless to say, Issei, if you wish to keep your place in Heaven, and I hope that you do, don't fall."

The brunette bit his lip as he looked his King in the eye. "...sir?"

"Yes?"

"If I were to fall, what would you do?"

"I would accept it, Issei Hyoudou."

Issei blinked in surprise at the swiftness of Raphael's reply. "I... don't understand, sir. I-I'm not saying that I want to fall, because I don't, but..." Issei trailed off.

"Your confusion is understandable, Issei," Raphael said. "The reason I say that I would accept it is twofold. First of all, that is the right of every Angel. If they truly, absolutely do not wish to be allied with Heaven any longer, they have every right to dye their wings black and leave us. As an Angel, Issei, that is a right you possess as well."

"And the second point, sir?"

"This is much more..." Raphael's head rocked slightly, as though he was figuring out what to say. "...more _direct_ _ly_ about you. Every other Brave Saint under the command of the Seraphim, Issei Hyoudou, became one by their own will and choice, even ones not human to begin with. The Seraphim are not Devils. We have never forced reincarnation upon a person, and have readily accepted refusal. It is written into the very laws of Heaven that we must do this, and those laws have not been broken... until you came along."

"You didn't force-"

"I did, Issei," Raphael said, cutting him off. "I reincarnated you without your explicit acceptance. As a result, you are not an Angel by your own choice. If any other method would have saved your life, I would have employed it before reincarnating you. Becoming an Angel has erased your humanity and has placed a heavy burden upon your shoulders, and for this, I am deeply sorry."

The King's eyes, which had shut as he had spoken, opened once more. "That is the other reason, Issei, that I would accept it if you chose to fall. You of all people would have the right to leave Heaven behind, as you did not join it by choice to begin with."

Issei shook his head. "Not going to happen sir." A smirk crossed his face. "You're stuck with me."

Raphael chuckled, but it wasn't as mirthful as Issei might have wanted. "I hope that's true, Issei Hyoudou." After shaking his head for a moment, the grin left the King's face and his features became serious once more. "Now then, Issei, we've gone on quite a verbal diversion, so let's get back to the original topic - Kuoh, according to the records I checked whilst you were out with Elizabeth, is run by a Devil. If you were to return to Kuoh at this moment in time, then you would be violating the truce between the Three Factions and it might be taken as an act of aggression. We can't have that."

Issei's face turned downwards, but before he could speak, Raphael continued. "Don't misunderstand, Issei. I'm not saying that returning is impossible or even unlikely. Fortunately for us, the Devils in that town – there is more than one, though only one of them is in charge of the town – happen to be the younger sisters of the current Devil Kings Lucifer and Leviathan."

"Lucifer and Leviathan?"

Raphael nodded. "Indeed, Sirzechs Lucifer and Serafall Leviathan. They're two of the four leaders of the Devils. The others, if you must know, are Falbium Asmodeus and Ajuka Beelzebub. They're all incredibly powerful Devils – and Lucifer and Beelzebub vastly exceed even Michael's power."

Issei had only been in Heaven one afternoon, but had quickly figured out that Michael's power had to be immense for him to be selected to be in charge of Heaven. The very notion that there were people far stronger than even him shocked him into quiet.

"As I was saying," Raphael said, "it's not impossible at all for you to return. Don't misunderstand, they may want something in exchange, but they're fairly reasonable people and should be easy enough to negotiate with. Our request isn't massive or difficult."

"You're... going to negotiate with them, sir?" Issei asked, eyes wide.

"Of course," Raphael said easily. One of his eyebrows quirked up. "Is there a problem with that?"

"N-no! No, sir, not at all!" Issei exclaimed. "I... I..."

"You?"

"...I just don't quite get it... why would you do all that for me? On top of everything else you've done for me?"

Raphael smiled. "Issei, you are my subordinate, but you are also one of my Brave Saints. We may be of differing ranks, but there is a give and take to this relationship. I would never treat you as some unthinking automaton to be ignored except when I require you for some task or another. You're an individual, with needs and cares and desires. And your desire in this case is perfectly reasonable and as much for the sake of others as it is for yourself."

"I... thank you, Lord Raphael," Issei stammered. "I'd like to ask, though..." His eyes darted from side to side. "...what's the 'take' for you?"

Raphael nodded. "I ask – nay, I _demand –_ your utmost effort in your training and your duties as a Brave Saint. Not only that, I _demand_ that you treat the other Brave Saints in this deck with the utmost respect. They are warriors and faithful followers of incredible capability. I'll speak honestly, Issei, and I don't intend any offense in saying this, but they have dedicated their lives to God's teachings and have served the church for many years. You did neither of these things. You did not earn your wings as they have. Also understand that they have other duties they must fulfill in addition to your training." Raphael nodded. "Am I clear?"

Issei nodded back, hiding some of the guilt he felt at essentially being a burden to his fellow Saints. He'd known them only a few hours, but nearly all of them seemed to be tremendously nice people.

Then, Issei thought of Nero and his words, and his face darkened slightly.

"Something the matter, Issei?" Raphael asked.

"No, Lord Raphael," Issei said quickly, shaking his head. "I understand what you've said, and I promise to you that I'll do all that you ask of me, and even more if I can."

Raphael smiled and nodded. "I'm glad to here it." He gestured towards the door. "Now then, you have something you need to get started on, don't you?"

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

When Issei came back out, only one person remained at the table. The brown-haired young woman who was Raphael's Nine quickly ushered him over, gesturing for him to sit in front of the unopened thick book at one of the seats. Her own copy sat open in front of her to the title.

"So then, Issei, you say you've never read a word of this before?"

"Nope, not one..."

Abigail shrugged. "Well, you're not alone there." She chuckled. "Sunday school experience, don't fail me now!"

"Sunday school?" Issei asked. "I've heard of it, but don't know anything about it."

"Something some churches do," Abigail said. "Religious instruction primarily aimed at children. I've volunteered at my church's for years." She tapped the inside cover of her Bible. "I've read this thing a whole bunch of times and I've taught it cover to cover to people much less able to sit still than you."

Abigail nodded towards his copy, a smile on her face. "So then, are you ready?"

Issei nodded back and opened the Good Book to the first page.

* * *

They sat there, reading through the first book and part of the second book of the Bible – Genesis and Exodus, if Issei's memory served him correctly – until nearly midnight, having started at just past five; their only interruptions had been for some water and the restroom. Abigail double-checked with him nearly every other line, and numerous times had gone into in-depth explanations of exactly what certain things were supposed to mean.

Despite the time of night, neither had felt particularly tired and both had intended to push on when Raphael had suddenly strode out of his office.

"You two are still at it?"

"Yes, sir," both Issei and Abigail said simultaneously.

"While I support trying to finish a task quickly, you shouldn't push yourself to stay awake far past a reasonable hour to do so. Your physical training starts tomorrow, Issei, and my Saints demand you be out of bed by seven. If you don't want to be half-dead tomorrow, you ought to get to sleep with all haste."

Abigail nodded. "You're right, of course, sir." Without any ceremony, she closed her book. "Exodus 26:17. We'll pick up from there tomorrow." She gave the Jack a smile. "Good night, Issei."

"Good night, Abigail. And... thanks."

"No trouble." Without another word, Abigail stood and left the table, departing to her room.

After looking over the last few verses he'd been reading concerning Noah's construction of the Ark, Issei closed the cover of his Bible and stood. He turned and cast a gaze at Raphael. "Good night, sir."

The King of Clubs nodded to him. "Good night, Issei. Rest well."

"Thank you, sir."

With that, Issei walked back to his room, and sleep came surprisingly quickly.

It was a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Issei was awakened by the very loud and very unwelcome sound of someone knocking on his door. Hard.

"Issei Hyoudou, get up," came the rather stern voice of Elizabeth. "Issei, are you awake?"

"Yeah, I'm up..." Issei attempted to call back. He was still half-asleep and his words were slurred. Nevertheless, Elizabeth understood them well enough.

"Good. You have two minutes to change into something more suitable for exercise. If you're not out of there in two minutes, I'm coming in there and dressing you myself before I drag you out."

"Got it."

Issei stumbled out of bed, deciding immediately to fix the bed later. He fumbled through his closet before withdrawing an outfit that was obviously designed for working out in, and Issei faintly recalled Nero wearing something similar the previous day at the field. As fast as he could, he threw it on and followed suit with his shoes.

He pushed open the door and stepped out, nearly crashing into Elizabeth in the process. She nodded and smiled at him. "Well, Issei, you seem to possess a sense of urgency. That's good." The Queen of Clubs made a motion with her head to follow her. "This way, Issei."

As he scampered out to the meeting hall behind Elizabeth, Issei spied the Ace of Clubs standing there, dressed similarly to him. Diethelm smiled as he looked at Issei. Then, he drew his arm back and tossed something towards Issei, which the latter just managed to catch.

It was, in fact, an apple.

"Freshly plucked from the Garden of Eden, Issei Hyoudou," the Ace said. "Eat that quickly before we begin."

Issei did so, not needing to be told twice. The apple tasted just as wonderful as the last one had.

Once he was done and he'd thrown the core away, Diethelm nodded to him.

"Let's proceed to the arena, Issei. I know that you're unable to fly, so we'll have to walk, but I expect a quick pace."

* * *

When they reached the training field, Diethelm immediately began leading him in stretching his muscles, correcting his form in these exercises. Once that was done, he had Issei run a lap around the arena, which led to a discussion of proper running form; according to Diethelm, Issei was doing most of it wrong, and sought to correct these flaws before Issei began running. The brunette even found that his _breathing_ needed correction, as his own was apparently quite likely to leave him very winded in a short amount of time.

With all of those things accomplished, Diethelm started Issei on running. The Ace ran with Issei, both proving that he was more than capable of doing what he asked of his pupil and to correct Issei the moment he started to fall back into old habits out of instinct.

Not that any of that helped with his exhaustion, of course.

Diethelm made Issei run "only" six kilometers, but that distance might as well have been to the moon and back for how long it felt. By the time he finished, Issei was wheezing and every part of his body hurt. He wanted only to fall down and pass out.

Diethelm would let him do neither, allowing him only a drink of water before he forced Issei to move on to the next set of exercises, these ones primarily aimed at increasing his physical strength. The brunette had expected that they would use weights or something of the sort, but Diethelm had shaken his head at that.

"No, Issei. We might get to that later, but for now, you'll be using your own body to train."

Push-ups, crunches, squats, planks and many other muscle training exercises were on the agenda, and Issei's body was left screaming against the strain. By the time they finished nearly three hours after they had started, Issei was feeling pain in muscles he hadn't been aware he possessed.

Diethelm, by contrast, seemed to have not even felt any of the exercise he'd done that morning. He hadn't been even slightly winded by the lengthy run, nor did he display the slightest difficulty with the muscle exercises. Issei could only imagine how much of this sort of training he had done as a church member.

Yet the latter hadn't once mocked him or berated him. While Diethelm had refused to accept any form of excuse and certainly not the words "I can't", he had been completely supportive throughout the entire workout.

When the session had concluded, the black-haired man smiled. "An excellent first effort, Issei. Don't worry, you'll improve with plenty of effort. None of us got to where we are in a day, don't worry. We'll pick up again tomorrow." Diethelm looked momentarily towards the entrances of the arena. "I'll be going to fetch Elizabeth. Wait here until she arrives. Other than that, have a good day, Issei."

"Thanks, Diethelm..."

Issei was grateful for the brief interruption. He was still trying to catch his breath.

* * *

The brunette wasn't kept waiting for very long before a glowing cross formed in front of him. From this cross stepped the distinct form of the Queen of Clubs.

"Hello again, Issei," Elizabeth said. She had changed her own outfit to one that was similar to the outfit Issei was wearing. It was clearly designed for exercise, though it was extremely conservative, for which Issei was quite grateful. He didn't want to know how Elizabeth might react if she thought he might be having lecherous thoughts about her.

"Hey, Elizabeth." He gave an exhausted grin at her as he stood up, wobbling a little bit on his feet.

"Diethelm pushed you a bit, I see."

"Feel like I'm half-dead, yeah."

"I'd expect nothing less," Elizabeth said. "Now then, Issei, let's begin with _my_ lesson – the beginning of your training with the Boosted Gear." She nodded. "You remember how it was summoned beforehand?"

Issei nodded.

"Good," Elizabeth said. "As I said before, it should be far easier to do again."

The brunette looked down at his arm and began to focus his thoughts, once again focusing on the concept of power. This time, it took only a few seconds before the same gauntlet as before appeared across his left hand. Issei was left staring at the gem on the back of his hand as Elizabeth continued speaking.

"Very good, Issei," the Queen said. "Now that you've manifested it, I can begin instructing you in its use. Before I do that, however, I'll need to explain the Sacred Gear's most simple functions." She tapped the gauntlet on his hand. "The Boosted Gear has a very simple premise, but it's a premise that has massive potential. Simply put, Issei, the Boosted Gear can double the user's power, and then double it again every ten seconds afterwards."

Issei blinked as he did the math in his head. "So in just one minute..."

"The power built up would lead to your power being increased by a factor of one hundred twenty-eight, yes. In two minutes, that amount would be increased to eight thousand, one hundred ninety-two, and so on and so forth." She nodded. "You understand, then, why the Boosted Gear has so much potential?"

Issei nodded quickly.

"Now then, Issei, to activate a Sacred Gear that's as simple as the desire. Simply focus your will upon your Sacred Gear and then, in a sense, mentally "order" it to activate. Is that simple enough?"

"I think so..."

"Try it, then."

Issei's brow furrowed as he focused.

 _Double. Increase. Do whatever it is you're gonna-_

 **"BOOST!"**

Issei wasn't too proud to admit that he jumped at that declared word, but as his heart began to calm itself, his thoughts turned elsewhere.

"I'm guessing that's the voice of Ddraig?" the brunette asked.

"Doubtless," Elizabeth replied. She waved her hand. "Keep going."

 **"BOOST!"**

For nearly a minute and a half this went on, the same word being shouted and echoing around the arena over and over again.

Then, for no reason Issei could discern, it stopped. As Issei began tapping at it, however, Elizabeth cleared her throat.

"Issei, that's not going to do anything. If my research on it is any indication, then the Boosted Gear will stop boosting when the host can't handle any more boosts. You appear to have hit your limit."

Issei frowned. "I don't feel any different." His face fell. "Come on, I boosted my power... uh..."

"One thousand twenty-four times," Elizabeth supplied automatically.

"Yeah, that number," Issei said. "But I boost my power that much and I'm still not any stronger? Are you kidding?"

"You wouldn't feel any different," the Queen of Clubs said. "Realize, Issei, that simply using Boost won't actually make any difference. You have to _release_ that built-up power for it to mean anything."

"How do I that? Some ability or another?"

"Yes, actually. The simplest one is just called "Explosion". That's what we'll be using for our purposes, at least for now. It simply releases the power you've built up throughout your entire body and vastly increases your physical attributes for a minute or two."

"Does that work the same way as Boost?" Issei asked.

"Yes," Elizabeth said. "Before I go forwards, Issei, realize that Sacred Gears in general respond to will and desire. If you want to do something badly enough with your Sacred Gear, it will respond and try its hardest to fulfill your wish. You could almost describe them as being similar to living creatures in that way." She smiled. "As soon as you employ Explosion, I want you to try and touch me and avoid being touched in response."

Issei nodded and shifted his eyes towards the gauntlet once again.

 _Okay... Explosion. Burst. Let this power come into me. Fuel me. Make me stronger. Do it!_

 **"EXPLOSION!"**

In one short burst, Issei's wish was answered.

Suddenly, he _did_ feel over a thousand times stronger. He felt as though he could punch down concrete walls and outrun Olympic sprinters. It was downright _euphoric_ to do this.

But Issei kept his focus, remembering Raphael's request to him to put his effort in.

He darted towards Elizabeth, certain that she wouldn't even see him move.

Yet she apparently did, and she quite easily darted out of his way, gently tapping him on the shoulder as she did so. Issei spun as he landed, trying to leap after her, but Elizabeth once again easily slid to the side and pressed her fingers against his shoulder.

Over and over this happened for nearly two minuts. Issei was having as much difficulty reacting to the world around him at such a speed as he was touching Elizabeth, and within seconds he was grateful that they were doing this in the middle of the empty field and not in somewhere close-quarters.

Yet as he neared two minutes after entering this state, the brunette felt his body quite suddenly begin to grow heavier, and with each second that passed, Issei felt as though he'd gained another ten pounds.

Within ten seconds, the sudden rally of energy was gone, and Issei was left gasping for air as he collapsed on the ground before Elizabeth. He'd thought he'd been tired before, but he'd only believed that because he'd never felt _this_. The bravado quickly began to leak out of Issei, and he wanted nothing more than to go to sleep right then and there.

Elizabeth, of course, wouldn't let him, pulling him to his feet and forcing him to stand on quivering legs.

"Easy enough to understand, Issei? As I said, the Boosted Gear is very simple, at least on the surface level. Its main restriction is in the stamina of its wielder. Hence, Diethelm's and my job go hand-in-hand. The more stamina you have and the stronger you are, the more Boosts you'll be able to handle." She tapped her chin. "While I have read that a truly chaotic or overpowering emotional state can allow the user to vastly exceed their limits, I'd avoid that if at all possible." The maroon-haired woman nodded. "We'll use this as a method of improving reflexes and as a measure of your overall stamina. Simple enough?"

"Yeah, I get it."

"Then start Boosting again."

* * *

When Issei finally managed to drag himself into the Clubs building after over four and a half hours on the field, he just about wanted to lie down and die right on the floor of the gathering hall.

Slowly, painfully, he dragged himself down the hall and into his room, stripping out of his clothes and letting hot water flow down his body.

After taking a bit longer than usual to dry off (very intentionally so), he dressed in fresh clothes and slowly walked back to the gathering hall.

Yet when he arrived, there was no sign of Asteria, who Elizabeth had told him was to be his third teacher of the day.

To his displeasure, he found out that she was in the library – a building fifteen minute's walk away at the best of times. Yet it couldn't be helped, and Issei duly began trudging over there.

* * *

It took nearly half an hour to walk the distance. All of Issei's muscles were burning with pain and his lungs felt as though they'd been scraped raw. His growling stomach certainly didn't help matters; while he appreciated not eating too much heavy food before a lengthy session of exercise, he'd only eaten an apple that day.

The library itself was actually part of another building, the entry level of which wouldn't have led one to think a library sat above it. Instead, dozens of cubicles lined the sides of the main path that lead towards the stairs that ascended to the actual library itself. In each cubicle sat an Angel, doing some sort of work. Their tasks, Elizabeth claimed, ranged from communication between churches and Heaven to managing church funds or settling small disputes between churches.

The twisting main path led through an archway that framed the entrance to a room dominated by a huge storage space containing every kind of tool and item an office might need (and quite a few one in the human world wouldn't). This, in turn, spat itself into a hallway that ended in a single door, which opened onto a flight of stone stairs which had a single reversal halfway up.

At the top of the second flight of stairs was the stained wooden entrance to the library itself.

Pushing his way through these doors, Issei let out a slow breath. He'd been awestruck when he'd first seen this place the day before, and he was still amazed at how beautiful it was.

The library was far grander than any Issei had ever been in while he was human. Tremendous in size, it housed countless bookshelves containing books on, according to Elizabeth, almost everything one could name. Fictional works, reference books, study materials, puzzles and everything in between. It was five floors high, with thick white carpets, wood-paneled walls and a massive gap in the center with no floors, so that an Angel who desired it could fly to any floor they chose without having to use the staircase.

For Issei, who couldn't fly and probably wouldn't have had the energy even if he wanted to, the stairs were the only option.

He trudged up those stairs cursing the person who'd invented them. Never had he despised staircases the way he did right now.

And of course Asteria would have to be on the highest floor. Sure, it made sense that she'd be there. The fifth floor was devoted entirely to the Angel's magic system, and Asteria was apparently going to teach him how to use light. But that didn't make him despise the stairs for existing any less.

Up and up, step by step. The staircase seemed to go on for a thousand years, each stop feeling like it took a thousand years to come. By the time Issei finally reached the fifth floor, he felt even sorer than he had before... if that was even possible.

He wasn't surprised to find Asteria seated at one of the tables near the entryway, nose in a book. He could, at least, give her some credit; she snapped the book shut before she began speaking to him.

"You're late."

"Sorry." Issei didn't bother saying anything else. He didn't have any interest in getting into any sort of discussion. Not when he was this exhausted.

"Follow me," Asteria said curtly.

She led him towards the back of the fifth floor, a process that took a bit longer than it should have, and led him into a room that was separated off from the rest of the floor. The room was painted an eggshell white, and barren save for two chairs.

Asteria sat in one, and she motioned for Issei to sit in the other. He did so with great joy, his leg muscles screaming their relief at being allowed to rest.

"Now then, Issei, have you tried to use your ability to manipulate light?"

"No."

"I thought not. Do me a favor and spread your wings."

Issei did so, having to shift position to ensure that they didn't get crumpled against the chair.

Asteria raised her palm once Issei had become situated. Issei blinked in surprise when, in her hand, a glowing, pure-white spear formed.

"You see this, Issei?"

"Yeah."

"Light is like your Sacred Gear. As far as Angels go, it's shaped by your will – though it can also be transcribed using a system that I'll teach you as we go along. It's very helpful for communicating complex techniques to others. As a result of its basic properties in the hands of an Angel or Fallen Angel, however, light magic is inherently extremely easy to evolve and upscale or downscale as the situation requires." She nodded to him. "Try and make something out of light. A spear, a brick, anything that pleases you. With wings and halo released, it's much easier for a first-timer to employ those abilities."

Issei raised his hand, brow furrowing as he focused on a new concept – the concept of light.

He imagined it bunching up, compressed into a ball. That lead to thoughts of a star, then to supernova. Quasars and other such phenomena.

As he did so, a tiny sphere of light formed in his palm.

"Whoa..."

Asteria duly nodded. "It's not a particularly difficult process for something simple like this, now is it?"

"Nope."

The sphere dissipated.

"Make something different."

* * *

The lesson went on for a couple of hours, though none of Issei's objects grew larger than a pencil or an orange.

Eventually, and rather abruptly, Asteria had simply told him the lesson was over, that he'd done fairly well, and that Ridley would be back at the Clubs building.

When Issei stood, legs still sore and now growing stiff, he suppressed the urge to groan. Instead, he thanked Asteria and walked out.

* * *

Perhaps the best part of being taught by Ridley was that he didn't mind waiting for Issei to eat something before he began teaching him.

Ridley's lesson to him, unlike the others, was a simple matter of cramming his head with facts and information. And there was a _lot_ of it. It didn't help that Ridley was fond of stopping things to suddenly ask questions on topics he'd covered earlier to see if Issei was paying attention.

Such as right now, for instance.

"You fall from grace," Issei said, "by committing some act or another that the system finds reproachable."

"Correct," Ridley said. "How does the system try to warn you that you shouldn't do what you're thinking about?"

"An Angel's wings will flash from white to black rapidly, and their halo will blink in and out of existence."

"Correct again."

Then he continued on his discussion of the Evil Pieces that the Devils were now using to increase their numbers.

* * *

When Ridley's lesson had finally finished, Issei was grateful. He knew he'd have to go back over all the notes he'd taken a dozen times to properly absorb everything he'd been told. He was about ready to pass out right at the table, and there was still one more teacher left to go.

It was nearly five in the afternoon again when Abigail and Issei started.

They didn't finish until around nine-thirty, and this time Issei was quite eager to finish.

He thanked her for her help wholeheartedly, he truly did. But it was also true that Issei desperately wanted to go to sleep.

After putting his Bible away on his shelf crawling under the covers, Issei was asleep inside of three minutes.

* * *

 _And cut_.

 _I'll admit I'm having to fill in gaps with my descriptions of light magic. Canon doesn't give us a lot of information on it._


	5. His Day Off

_**Where Issei is good in heart. I just don't see him not falling. His Lust would make him fall. Im sure Pure Love is acceptable even in heaven and im sure he is capable of it. That wouldn't stop him from lusting after others even if he didnt act on it.**_

 _Putting aside that canon has emphatically established that Issei is a good person, I explained why lust alone wouldn't cause him to fall in the very chapter you left a review on. In this AU, one needs to_ _ **act**_ _on their desires to fall, not just have them. And yes, this is a very intentional departure from canon, mostly because the system as it's described and shown in Heaven is so absurdly restrictive that I find it hard to believe there are any Angels still in Heaven, given how easy it is to trip over something that might put you on track to falling. The fact that it just so happens to be massively easier to write has absolutely nothing to do with it. Nothing at all._

 _I do not own Highschool DxD._

* * *

When Issei awoke on Sunday morning, he found himself throwing clothes on in an absolute panic until his brain started working and his memory started functioning. Once it did, he seriously considered taking all his clothes back off and just going straight back to sleep.

He'd been informed that Sunday was the Lord's Day, and that he would have the day off to rest and recover. Having spent the last six days of training regretting his life choices with regards to exercise, this was a very welcome thing. Issei had checked his weight on Saturday night, and he wasn't surprised to find that he'd lost a couple of kilograms already. He'd done more exercising in the last six days than he had in the last six months prior, and his body was paying the price for his laziness.

Alas, his exhaustion-induced deep sleep of the previous few nights had left his mind extremely well-rested, and Issei gave up on the idea before he'd even bothered. Instead, he simply drew himself a lengthy morning shower and washing up more thoroughly than he'd had the time or energy to in days.

Once he'd finished with that, he opened his closet, pulled out the rather elaborate "priestly" clothing that was worn by Dulio and the like, and dressed in it, careful to follow Ridley's exact instructions for its proper wear. Issei remembered the first time he'd seen Dulio and had believed that his clothes must have been irritating to wear – how wrong he'd been! The priestly clothes were, contrary to his expectation, quite comfortable, and Issei found that he quite liked his looks whilst wearing them (though Diethelm complimenting him on them was a statement he still hadn't quite processed).

Once he'd finished, he made his bed and exited his room, striding down the hall.

* * *

When Issei had first arrived, he'd expected to see the other Saints there, perhaps enjoying breakfast together or simply discussing some topic or another.

Instead, however, there was only one person there – Elizabeth, the Queen. She was seated at the lengthy table in the gathering hall, an obviously-finished plate of food set before her, knife and fork crossed in a perfect X on the plate. Her attention appeared to be on the book set on the table before her, but she acknowledged him the moment he entered the room.

"Good morning, Issei."

"Morning, Elizabeth."

She waved him over, pointing to the chair opposite herself as she pushed her book off to one side. Issei accepted the invitation.

"So, Issei," Elizabeth said as he sat down, "I suppose you've been looking forward to today all week?" A smile was on her face as she asked this.

"Not really, given that I didn't know I had today off until last night," Issei said, "but yeah, it's appreciated." He chuckled slightly. "I think my muscles were just about to jump off my body and look for new housing."

"Oh, you really are lazy," Elizabeth said, reaching across the table and lightly flicking his hair, smile widening all the while.

"Lazier than a dead man," Issei said.

"I was under the impression that the Brave Saint system was supposed to cleanse one's thoughts and mind of sin?" Elizabeth asked, her tone filled with humor.

"It's less than a year old," Issei said, shrugging. "Maybe they haven't ironed out all the bugs yet."

Despite his joking demeanor, Issei's personal thoughts on the Brave Saint system were a muddy river rather than a crystal pool of acceptance or loathing. There was absolutely no denying that he was alive solely because of the Brave Saint system that had made him into an Angel; Ridley had mentioned what Raphael had told them, that even his own healing capabilities wouldn't have saved Issei's life. And the brunette could, now that he was on the other side of the threshold, see some of the benefits of a thought process that wasn't as lecherous as before.

But at the same time, the idea of having ideas and thoughts considered "sinful" by a God he hadn't believed in forcibly stripped from his brain veered a little too close to brainwashing for Issei to be entirely comfortable with it. Ridley had clarified that it had been intended as an entirely ceremonial gesture, given that the targets of reincarnation would almost exclusively have been church members who already believed these teachings, and that Issei was free to rediscover sin if he wished. Despite that, however, there was an undercurrent to it that Issei couldn't completely shrug off. Having his personality screwed with in such a way was never going to be pleasant, no matter what the alternative was.

But Issei revealed none of that to his fellow Saints, and he certainly didn't hold it against Raphael for reincarnating him. Not when the alternative was death for Issei and potential catastrophe in the long-term at the hands of the creature sealed in his Sacred Gear.

So instead, Issei just grinned back at Elizabeth.

"Perhaps," Elizabeth said. "I'll put it in the requests for the next system patch that should be released approximately eighty thousand years from now." She folded her hands in front of her, fingers lacing together. "So, Issei, I'm curious. Do you have any particular plans for the day?"

Issei scratched the side of his head. "Not sure. I was thinking about going up to the library, maybe getting a head start on some of the transcription work for light magic, but I don't know if Asteria might get annoyed with me for jumping ahead…"

"Given her sheer laziness, that's unlikely," Elizabeth replied. "I must say, that's actually quite wise of you, Issei. Before you do that, however, I have a message from Raphael. It's why I'm here – I was waiting for you." She put a hand up as he moved to apologize. "Don't worry, Issei. It isn't as though I've anywhere I need to be today. The church I supervise has someone else running it in my place on Sunday. It's the only way I stay sane."

Issei nodded. "What's the message, then? And where is everybody else, anyway?"

"Raphael asks for you to speak with him in Fifth Heaven – the hospital, as before."

"Did he say what it was about?"

"No," Elizabeth said.

"Okay, not that big of a deal. Before I go, though…"

"Your second question?" Elizabeth asked, mirth dancing in her eyes. "Ridley is currently in one of the Protestant Church facilities, supervising young exorcists in their post-services training. Diethelm is currently working as a healer in Germany – he's rekindled the dying faith of many believers that way. Abigail is working a double shift in the library and no doubt regretting agreeing to the post for the next six months every minute she does it. Asteria mentioned that she was travelling home for the first time in a few months – visiting her family and her old church, the obvious things."

Issei gave an amused snort Elizabeth listed off where his fellow Saints were – primarily at Abigail's expense.

"Now then, Issei," Elizabeth said, "you ought to get to Fifth Heaven. No reason to keep our King waiting, is there?"

"No, I suppose there isn't."

"Good day to you, then."

"See you later."

As he said this, Issei began focusing on the simple transportation magic Asteria had taught him, lining up his will with what he knew he needed to do to transport himself straight to Fifth Heaven's hospital exterior.

Steadily, his form compressed into the pure light of a glowing, white cross. After a moment, it vanished.

* * *

Issei's eyes opened to find that he'd gotten the magic right for once. In his vision, Issei could see Fifth Heaven's hospital extend upwards. He was on the grass near one of the paths that snaked across the front garden towards the front entrance.

Without any additional ceremony, Issei stepped onto the path and walked towards the glass doors. As he stepped inside, the Angel behind the reception desk looked up.

"Ah, Issei Hyoudou, right?" he asked. "Lord Raphael wanted you to go to his office and speak with him."

"Why do you think I'm here?" Issei asked dryly.

The Angel behind the counter opened his mouth to reply, then shut it again.

"Exactly."

Without any further prompting, Issei followed along the pathway that he knew would lead straight to Raphael's office. In very short order, he stood outside of the double doors that lead into Raphael's main office.

 _Whap._ He knocked only once before stepping back, awaiting his King's command.

After a moment, that same loud buzz from a week earlier burst through his ears.

Issei stepped forwards and turned the handle of the door.

* * *

"You called for me, Lord Raphael?" Issei asked. He stood before his King's desk, which was as neat as it had been a week before.

"I did indeed, Issei," the King of Clubs said. "Among several issues, I wanted to let you know about the status of that request you made last week. As it turns out, I was right – the Four Great Satans have stated that they have no issue with you returning to your residence in Kuoh town. The only condition is that Lord Lucifer and Lady Leviathan have the chance to meet you in person. I've agreed to meet with them and Michael, along with you and their respective sisters."

"Thank you, sir. It means a lot."

"Oh, no real trouble. However, there's a slight catch to this, one created solely by me."

"What's that, sir?"

"I have heard from Ridley what you've told him regarding your parents should you return – that you wish to hide the fact that you've become an Angel from them. I will not allow this, Issei."

Issei's face twisted into an alarmed expression. "Sir, I have to object."

"Why is that, Issei?" Raphael asked.

"Sir, how are they ever going to sleep at night after they find out what's happened to me? That I'm being trained for combat and will have to be fighting? That they're sitting in the middle of what's basically enemy territory?"

Raphael nodded. "Valid concerns, my Jack. But I must counter them with an obvious question – how long do you think it will be before your parents deduce that their son's not being truthful with them? How long will it take before their concerns run wild and they find out the truth regardless? Would you not wish to tell them the truth yourself, so that you might alleviate their concerns and present the issue as you wish? And putting all of that aside, what story could you possibly give them to explain your absence that they wouldn't see through in a second?"

"I…" Issei started to say, before closing his mouth for lack of a response to his King's statements.

"Putting that aside, Issei, I'd like to meet your mother and father – both because I'm curious about who they are as people and to make it clear to them that, while I might be vastly stronger and older than they are, I'm ultimately not a shadowy monster out to cause them misery and steal their son away from them."

"What about the Devils, sir?"

"Issei, should your groups act according to your stations and keep the somewhat fragile truce in careful mind when interacting – which I fully expect you to do – then there's little problem with your town's supernatural element being governed by Devils. Put simply, Issei – don't antagonize them and they'll likely leave you be."

"I can't change your mind, can I?" Issei asked, already knowing the answer.

Raphael shook his head. "No, Issei, you cannot. Not in this case. I understand your concerns, but I feel in this case that I must overrule them."

Issei exhaled and slowly nodded. "I understand, sir. I don't agree with you, but I understand. You're my King." The brunette meant these words wholeheartedly; there certainly wasn't any anger or resentment building up. Raphael might have overridden the Jack's objection, but he'd given him a chance to explain his reasons for doing so and had done so in turn. He hadn't been harsh or condescending, and Issei had to admit that he could easily see his King's argument.

"Now then, Issei," Raphael said, "if we might get off that somewhat heavy subject, I'd like to ask you, Issei – how have you adjusted thus far?"

"To being a Brave Saint?" Issei rocked his head back and forth slightly. "Well, aside from wishing dearly that I'd joined the track team last year, it's actually been pretty interesting. Especially learning to use light magic."

"Oh?" Raphael said, lips turning up in a grin. "No mention of flying?"

"I'm still getting the hang of it, sir." Issei laughed after saying this. "But yes, sir, it's a lot of fun, even though I still can't land properly to save my life."

Raphael chuckled. "It's the hardest part of adjusting, we've found."

"Besides the bit about Christians falling at your feet in worship despite the fact that the Bible repeatedly shows that you're not supposed to do that?" Issei could keep the grin off his face as he said this.

Raphael snorted up in laughter at his Saint's joke. "I meant _besides_ the most obvious adjustment."

"Is that true or did you just not think of that?"

"How would you even know?" Raphael asked, face set in a grin. "You haven't gone to meet the church yet!"

"Sir, I live in a building with five other Angels who love to share all sorts of anecdotes with me. You'd be _amazed_ at some of the questions certain believers ask."

"Such as?"

Issei grinned wider. "I think it's more fun if I let you imagine it."

"Oh, you're cruel, Issei." After a final chuckle, Raphael shook his head and looked back down at his paperwork, his features becoming serious once more. "All right then, Issei. I'll see you again on Sunday night – that's when we'll be returning to your town. I already have the coordinates for the school."

"Yes, sir. I'll see you then."

"Very well. Good-bye for now, Issei."

"Good-bye."

* * *

After finishing up his discussion with Raphael, Issei stepped out of the hospital and promptly employed his teleportation magic once more – this time appearing in front of the building that housed the library.

Passing through the front door and walking down the path that led towards the library, Issei stopped only at the "supply wall", as he'd come to think of it. It was nothing more and nothing less than gigantic, wall-sized cabinet that contained every type of office supply one could name or need. Pens, paper, glue, toner, ink and a million other things – all of it was here, all of it was free of charge. The only expectation was that an Angel not take more than they needed.

Issei, for his part, picked up two pencils and several pieces of paper. He didn't know _what_ books he might be looking for, exactly, but he was sure that he'd likely need the paper for practice.

Then, he strode up the staircase to the library.

* * *

It wasn't much of an exaggeration to say that the library had quickly become one of Issei's favorite places in Heaven. The warm, rich aroma of paper was always an appealing smell, yes, but the sheer skill and craftsmanship that had gone into the construction of the building was what created his love for the place. It was simply such a pleasant environment to be in that Issei's lessons with Asteria had become the highlight of his day, simply because she preferred the library as her classroom above all else. Issei hadn't been much of a bookworm throughout his life, but he was quickly beginning to think that that might change once he had more free time in Heaven.

All that said, he still hated the massive spiral staircase that lead up to the fifth floor.

After half an eternity of climbing, muscles protesting all the while, he finally came out to the landing and promptly realized that he had absolutely no idea where to start looking. The fifth floor was a massive expanse, covering an area several times larger than Issei's house. Thousands upon thousands of books were stored here, and he barely knew anything about the filing system; somehow, he doubted the Nippon Decimal Classification was the organizational method of choice.

Not that he could ever remember _that_ , either.

As a result, Issei was left to just start looking, wandering about and looking at book spines, looking for a title that might have indicated some sort of instruction manual for light magic.

Issei already knew what he what he wanted to do, of course – he wanted to make something with his light. Something unique, unlike anything that had been created with light magic before. Even if it wasn't all that practical in the long term, Issei wanted to build it for its own sake, whatever "it" might ultimately be. Something that would impress even the Seraph he called his King… and maybe Gabriel, too.

Issei would freely admit that he'd been more than a little smitten with the lone female Seraph ever since he'd first seen her. Sure, the Jack knew full well that he had basically no chance of ever winning her affections – no one had succeeded since the day she had been created by God and she outranked him more than anyone else in Heaven. But he still wanted to try any way that he could, even if just about every other male reincarnated Angel felt the same way about her.

Now if only the book he needed might surface from the shelves.

* * *

As he checked the numerous shelves of books, Issei quickly lost track of time. The numerous titles, often supremely evocative, captured his imagination and nearly distracted him from his goal several times.

 _Inertial Reflection of Forces. Solar Flare Alteration. Omni-elemental Holy Infusion._

Alas, none of them held what he was looking for, and he was forced to keep looking. The brunette was so absorbed in this task that he nearly bumped into an Angel who came walking around the corner.

"Oh, excuse me," he said, standing up and trying to press himself against the shelf so she could pass.

Yet she did not take the opportunity.

This Angel, whatever her name might have been…

 _Holy crap she's hot…_

She wasn't quite Gabriel's equal, no, but this Angel was gorgeous and nearly lacking compare nonetheless. She wore a form-fitting robe no doubt woven from the finest silks known in any dimension, covering nearly every inch of her stunningly sinuous body below the neck, save her arms from the elbows down. These were covered by a pair of white gloves that matched the robe perfectly and yet remained distinct enough to be obviously separate pieces of fabric. Her flawless, heart-shaped face looked down at him with a friendly, warm expression from a lovely pair of green eyes.

"Oh? And who might you be?"

"Err… Issei Hyoudou…" the brunette said rather awkwardly.

"Ah, Lord Raphael's recently-chosen Jack? The Red Dragon Emperor?"

"Uh… yeah, I guess."

The woman smiled and stepped closer, suddenly breaking well into his personal space. One hand came down on his shoulder, as though to hold him in place, while with her other she slid several fingers under her chin and lifted upwards, as though she was about to kiss him.

Issei's face turned a deeper shade of red than the Boosted Gear's gauntlet at this woman's touch.

"What an interesting occurrence…" the woman murmured. She was so close that Issei could smell her breath – sure, it smelled wonderful, but he still found her rather too close for a stranger. "A boy who suffers brutal violence has their prayer answered by an Angel and is reincarnated as such due to a Sacred Gear they weren't aware they had." She pulled her face back a short distance from his and began caressing his cheek with a gloved hand. "Can that be called luck, I wonder?"

"Could you…" Issei stammered, "…please stop?"

The woman did indeed remove her hands from his skin, but she smiled wider even as she did so. "Oh, don't be so modest. We both know that you enjoyed that."

Issei didn't respond, because in at least one way, she was right. Her touch had been gentle, kind yet sensual, and her beauty was something he couldn't deny.

"Might you, by any chance, be looking for something like a guide to light magic transcriptions?"

"Y-yeah, something like that… how'd you know?"

"I'm a friend of Asteria, Lord Raphael's Ten. Follow me – I know just the book you're looking for."

So he did, still rather weirded out by this whole experience but wanting to actually get started on his creation, whatever shape it ended up taking.

After a minute or so of walking and weaving among shelves, the woman suddenly stopped at one shelf, fingers running down the spines of the books. After a few seconds, she nodded and pulled one off the shelf.

"This should suit your needs," she said, offering him the tome.

"Thank you," Issei said, trying to be polite as he read the title: _The Reincarnated Angel's Guide to the Basics of Light Manipulation and Transcription._

"You're welcome," the woman said as she strode past him.

Issei turned to look after a moment. "Wait… I never got your name."

The woman stopped and turned, her face in profile as she looked at him. "I am called Valkost, child. Somehow, I doubt this is the last time we'll meet."

Then she was gone.

* * *

 _And cut._


	6. Returning Morn

_I do not own Highschool DxD._

* * *

Issei didn't depart the library until it was nearly suppertime, so absorbed did he get into the book that Valkost gave him. As it turned out, light magic was a classic case of "easy to learn the basics, hard to master with any form of nuance". The basics came to him easily enough, with the lines that defined spears, swords and bows being a simple matter to learn. But beyond basic weaponry, the system of light magic grew very complicated _very_ quickly.

To create anything more complex, every aspect of it had to be defined and explained in the system described within the book. Sure, it was perfectly possible to create everything by sheer force of will, but writing it down and memorizing it would ensure consistency between creations.

With all these challenges, Issei swiftly realized that creating something truly special was going to require much more blood, sweat and tears than he'd anticipated. At the same time, however, he refused to let himself be discouraged. He had a goal, now. Two of them, in fact.

He wanted to impress Raphael and Gabriel… and show Nero up. Whenever his thoughts wandered back to his first day in Heaven, Issei found himself seething once more. He knew he really shouldn't be taking nearly as much offense at Nero's words as he did, but the brunette couldn't help it.

Checking the book out proved to be a simple task; Abigail, who was behind the counter, quickly walked him through the process. To his delight, there was no return date, only a certain punishment of extra duties if he should lose or damage it, which he was certain he could avoid doing.

After wishing her a pleasant evening (Abigail had dryly commented that it was _much_ too late for that), Issei left the library to seek the company of his fellows in the building Raphael's Saints called home.

* * *

Issei wasn't entirely surprised to smell the aroma of cooked food when he walked through the front door of the home of Raphael's Saints. He recalled that Ridley had mentioned that the Saints of Raphael preferred to dine together on Sunday evenings, if only to toss events of the past week back and forth. Sometimes Raphael joined them, though apparently not as often as the Seraph would have liked.

As far as Issei could tell, they had just finished saying grace. Laid out on the table was a simple meal dominated by a rather large ham at the center of the table; different vegetables surrounded it in bowls as a garnish.

"So, our absent Saint returns," Elizabeth said as Issei appeared at the entrance to the gathering hall. "Doubtless hunger draws him back." She smiled and gestured towards one of the empty seats at which an empty plate sat; Issei promptly took it and asked for the ham.

"Do anything of substance today, Issei?" Diethelm asked as he served himself some potatoes.

Issei shrugged. "Outside of getting some information about next Sunday from Raphael, I spent most of the day in the library."

"Hmm? Anything we ought to know about?" Asteria asked. As always, the white-haired woman had her nose in a book, reading as she ate and engaging in conversation simultaneously.

"Well… I'm going to be headed back to Kuoh on Sunday. My hometown. I'll be splitting my time between Heaven and there."

"Ah, for your parents' sake?" Elizabeth asked. "What story will you give them to explain your absence?"

Issei shrugged as he swallowed a bite of food. "The truth."

"Really?" Ridley asked. "Your parents aren't believers and you want to introduce them to this world?"

"I didn't say it was my choice," Issei said. "Lord Raphael told me that I had to tell them the truth. He thinks that there's no point in lying about it and that they'll figure it out either way." A second shrug. "Thinking about it, he's probably right. Putting that aside, he wants to meet my parents."

The other Saints nodded.

"By the way, Asteria?" Issei asked.

"Yes?"

"I met an Angel in Heaven today who says she knows you. I wanted to ask you about her. "Valkost", I think her name was?"

Asteria nodded. "Yes, I know her. Most of us do, though, given that she's one of Heaven's strongest Angels besides the Seraphs."

Issei hid his surprise at that statement as he spoke his response. "That why she started touching me without even introducing herself?"

Asteria looked up at that, giving a slight wave of her hand. "Don't worry about it, Issei. She acts sensual and all, but Valkost is harmless. Really, she's quite a nice woman, though she does lack a sense of personal space."

"I figured that last bit out about the time she got so close I could smell her breath."

Asteria chuckled.

"But besides that, Issei," Ridley asked, "did you while the hours away reading novels or doing something actually productive?"

In response to that, Issei picked up the book that he'd set on his lap when he'd sat down and placed it on the table. "I started with this. Basic light transcription."

The other Saints gave approving nods. "So, you spent your day off lightening my workload?" Asteria asked. "How kind of you, Issei."

Across the table, Elizabeth gave him a slightly smug smile and tipped her head towards the white-haired woman next to her in an obvious gesture of "I told you so".

Issei looked towards Raphael's Ten. "Asteria, this might sound like a weird question…"

"What is it, Issei?"

"Is it possible to…" Issei scratched his head, trying to figure out the best way to phrase this. "…is it possible to… set a spell within a spell? Cause one spell to go off because of another?"

"I suppose," Asteria said. "It's not easy to do, however. That's higher-level magic, even for light, Issei. Things like this take time to learn."

Issei shrugged. "Sorry, just trying to figure out where the limits are. Want to see if I can't figure out how to make something of my own from light."

"Perfectly understandable," Diethelm said. "I assume you're seeking to make your mark, Issei?"

"Do something that Heaven hasn't seen before?" Ridley added.

"Yeah, pretty much."

Diethelm smiled. "We all look forward to seeing what you create, Issei."

"Probably going to be a while."

"Never let it be said that we don't possess the virtue of patience."

"I don't know," Ridley said. "Have you ever seen Abigail when she's waiting for a pizza she's ordered?"

"I remember that," Elizabeth said, laughing. "Couldn't keep from checking the door at every scrape and bump."

"You bring that up all the time, Ridley," Asteria said. "Still trying to get back at Abigail for that time she beat you into the pavement in front of your whole congregation?"

Ridley's face twisted into a very annoyed glance, which only made Asteria grin. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Hang on a minute," Issei said, confused. "Doesn't Ridley have six wings? If Abigail only has four- "

"Wings indicate strength, Issei," Elizabeth explained gently, "but some of us aren't able to capitalize on all their potential."

"You shut up!" Ridley cried.

"I've been rather quiet throughout this conversation." Elizabeth set down her knife and fork. "Thank you for cooking, Ridley."

A muttered "You're welcome" was Ridley's response, and Elizabeth nodded at him before looking to the Jack who sat across from her.

"Now then, Issei," the Queen of Clubs said, "once you've finished eating, I'd like you to come to my room. I'd like to do something with you."

As Issei's mind processed these words, his cheeks turned bright red and his face began to twist in an incredulous look. His thoughts began to twist in a very familiar way, to the point that he could feel that same unpleasant sensation rippling through his back as when he'd first met Gabriel.

He didn't hear an annoyed sigh from Ridley, but he did hear his next words.

"Hello, this is Ridley Ashworth in Heaven, paging the gutter. Could you connect me with the mind of Issei Hyoudou, please?"

"Sh-shut up! I'm a teenager! If a woman asks to be alone with me in her room, I…" The words died in his throat as he realized what he was about to say and heard the laughter coming up from both Elizabeth and Diethelm.

"Word of advice, Issei," Asteria said, eyes back in her book. "The women of Heaven are quite conservative. Sexual innuendo isn't something we do… or in some cases, even tolerate."

"Griselda again?"

"Oh, she's not even the worst. Use that sort of thing around Jessica Lagerkvist and you're likely to get your nose broken."

"Who's that?"

"Lord Sandalphon's Queen. She always looks like she's half-asleep."

As Issei finished his food and followed Elizabeth, he began to realize that his transition from human to Angel might be more difficult than he'd thought.

* * *

Elizabeth's room, right next to his, was one he'd never been in in the week he'd be in Heaven. It was understandable why that was, of course; Issei hadn't had a spare second except today, which he'd spent elsewhere. Besides that, Elizabeth's room was her private space, and Issei would readily admit that he didn't care much what was in there.

Yet here he stood regardless.

Issei wasn't surprised that Elizabeth's room was set up very similarly to his own. Putting aside that Ridley's lessons had informed him of this exact trait of the Brave Saint buildings, Issei had also learned of the idea of all being equal in the eyes of God. He had no doubt that the Seraphim who had commissioned the construction of these buildings were of the same mindset.

Despite that, however, there were still noticeable differences between his room and Elizabeth's. Issei's room was quite spartan and bare of anything of note besides what the room itself had come with. Elizabeth's, on the other hand, appeared very "lived-in", with personal items set in slightly odd places and the sheets stretched across the bed in a careless way.

"Wait here a moment, Issei," Elizabeth said as she went to her closet and pulled the door open. Through the open gap, Issei was surprised to see that it was rather disorganized.

As Elizabeth rummaged through several boxes, Issei's eyes wandered, eventually settling on the nightstand. A pair of pictures sat there; not an unexpected sight, but it took a moment or two for Issei to realize that they both depicted Elizabeth herself. One of them was a simple photograph of the Queen of Clubs, alone. The second was one of Elizabeth and a man he didn't recognize, both dressed in the sort of clothing one would expect of dedicated members of the church.

Issei blinked as he realized the distinction between these photographs and the woman that stood before him now.

 _There's no scar…_

Issei had long since stopped noticing that scar that ran the length of Elizabeth's right cheek, but as Issei averted his eyes of the pictures and Elizabeth turned around, it came back into focus. The brunette found his eyes falling on it, wondering about it. After a moment, however, he shook his head and looked at the nondescript metal box in her hand, having realized how rude it was.

Unbeknownst to him, and although she didn't comment on it, Elizabeth noticed his wandering eye.

"Sit with me, Issei," Elizabeth said, head indicating the table across from the bed, set up in front of the bookshelf.

Once he and Elizabeth had taken places, Elizabeth set the box down, opened it and withdrew a simple wooden board, decorated with checkerboarded squares. Then, she pulled out two bags – one black, one white.

In a flash, she'd opened the black bag and gently emptied its contents onto the table.

"Have you ever played chess, Issei?"

"Not really," Issei replied, shaking his head. "I know a little bit about it, but not the full rulebook."

"Then I won't waste time trying to dance around repeating what you already know. Let's play a game and then I'll explain where I'm going with this."

Her hands moved at incredible speed, lining up the pieces on one side of the board – black ones, in her case. Then, she opened the second bag and repeated the procedure, this time with white pieces.

After giving him a quick rundown of the rules, the pieces and their movements, Issei and Elizabeth began to play.

* * *

Issei was, to put it bluntly, a very poor chess player.

"Checkmate," Elizabeth said as she put her rook down on a specific place on the board after only thirteen moves.

The Jack of Clubs looked down glumly at the board. His king was indeed trapped.

"Now then, Issei, have you figured out what I'm trying to teach you?"

"Uh… not really."

Elizabeth chuckled. To the brunette's confusion, she proceeded to pick up her rook and move it back to its previous location.

"What are you doing?"

"Issei, move your bishop back to where it was before. Then redo this move in a different way. You have two avenues to protect your king. Look at the board until you find the other one."

Issei stared at checkered squares for a moment, before moving a knight to protect his king from the queen's line of fire.

Elizabeth promptly moved her own bishop and set it down. "Checkmate."

Issei blinked. "What was the purpose of that, exactly?"

"Issei, consider the board. You had no actual escape route from my checkmate. Why do you think that is?"

"You're a better player?"

"Why do you think of me as better?"

"You've played longer?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Let me try a somewhat more leading question. What skill might I possess or have employed in order to be able to trap you in this way?"

"Uh… better foresight?"

"Warmer. How do good foresight and predictive skills help in a strategy game?"

"You're good at thinking ahead?"

Elizabeth gave a triumphant nod. " _Precisely_ , Issei. Now, with that thought in mind, let's set the pieces back to their original state."

This took a bit longer than the first time, due to Issei not having memorized the exact layout of the pieces prior to their game. Once it was done, Elizabeth continued speaking as she swept her hand over the table.

"Issei, I want you to shift gears somewhat. Right now, you see a game board, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't look at it like that. Look at it as though it were a battlefield." She plucked a pawn piece off the board and held it up. "These pieces are your soldiers, and you're their commander. I'm the enemy commander whom you're trying to defeat. If I'm thinking ahead and planning, and you aren't, who's the more likely to win?"

Issei nodded, and Elizabeth could see the gears in his head turning.

Elizabeth put the piece back down. "All that said, I'm not going to be asking you to make major tactical plans anytime soon. All I'm really trying to say is that blindly charging ahead the way so many would-be fighters do is an excellent way to get yourself and others killed. We've lost a number of exorcists to bullheaded recklessness, and I'd rather you not go the same way in a week or two."

Issei nodded. "I guess I get- wait, _what_?" It took a second or two for Issei to process what Elizabeth had said, but when he did, the gears in his head jammed.

"The other Saints and I discussed this and Raphael already gave his approval. The next week or the week after, depending on how it shakes out, Issei, I will be taking you to deal with a monster in combat."

Issei's eye twitched.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," Elizabeth said. "It won't be anything you can't handle, and you'll even get the choice of which monster to face off with from a few possibilities. And I'll be on hand to dispose of it just in case you get overwhelmed. You won't die if can possibly help it, and I'm rather good at what I do."

"But… _why_?"

"Because, speaking frankly, you need the combat experience, and we'd rather introduce you to battle on our own terms and with some control. Obviously, things _could_ go horribly wrong, but that's true of every single plan."

"And I suppose there's no way I can talk you all out of this."

"No, there isn't."

As Issei began to regret his life choices for the fiftieth time that week, Elizabeth set the pieces up on the board.

"Another game, Issei?"

* * *

Elizabeth smiled inwardly as she and Issei played through several more rounds of chess. Even through those few rounds, she could see his skill quickly increasing. While she was never once caught unaware nor did she ever have much difficulty checkmating him, she could see his attempts to think ahead and outwit her in action, growing better thought-out with every game. They weren't even bad attempts, given his unfamiliarity with the game.

It seemed Issei wasn't completely hopeless in this particular realm.

* * *

The next six days were a paradox of experience for Issei. Each seemed to drag on for far too long, yet when he reached the point where he was due for bed he would feel as though the day had blazed by.

Diethelm pushed him as hard as he ever had, and Issei's body was already beginning to bear the result, with what little body fat he'd had vanishing quite rapidly. Elizabeth's lessons in both his Sacred Gear and the basics of hand-to-hand combat blitzed by and left him exhausted as always. Asteria had appreciated his head-start on light transcription and was able to skip some of the most basic lessons, moving into somewhat more advanced manipulation. Ridley's lessons remained informative, and even if there was still a large amount of the book to go by the end of the week, Abigail's enthusiasm for teaching the Bible hadn't yet wavered.

Then, every evening, Elizabeth would always find him and ask him to play a couple of games of chess with her. She confessed Wednesday evening that she'd hoped that she might find a regular opponent in Issei, irrespective to his actual skill at the game; while Diethelm would occasionally play games with her, both Abigail and Ridley found chess incredibly boring, and Asteria had always refused her requests outright.

Issei never raised a word of complaint to indulging Elizabeth in this; in fact, he began to find some enjoyment in the game despite losing every single round.

* * *

The Jack of Clubs woke up on Sunday morning with a mix of nervousness, anticipation, and just a few twinges of regret.

As Issei washed up, his mind drifted back over the last fortnight he'd spent in this world called Heaven. He'd quickly grown to love the place, that was beyond question, despite how little time he'd actually had to soak it in between his constant lessons. The Saints, at least in his building, were incredibly nice people – they didn't judge him the way Nero had. At least part of him would have been quite happy to stay in Heaven indefinitely, to simply absorb and learn everything he possibly could and fulfill his end of the bargain the Brave Saint card had made with his life.

Of course, it also wasn't wrong to say that Issei wanted to see his family again, to let them know he wasn't dead and to share their company once more. Yet that brought up a nervousness all its own.

There was no denying that his King was right. As bizarre as they could be at times, Issei's parents were not idiots. The brunette knew even as Raphael had said it that he was right, and that there was no story he could give them that they wouldn't immediately realize was a lie. Yet how would they react when they heard the truth of what had happened? For that matter, how would Raphael?

Issei had yet to tell either his King or his fellow Saints what exactly had left him in the condition Raphael had found him in. And while Issei doubted Raphael would judge him for it, the Jack was also aware that, in the grand scheme of things, he didn't actually know his King all that well. For all he knew, the kind, friendly Seraph Issei had seen didn't actually exist. Perhaps it was no more than a mask to get those around him to drop his guard.

Sure, he doubted it heavily. But if he'd been told before he'd gone on a date with her that Yuuma would murder him at the end of it, he'd have doubted that, too.

After dressing in the formal, priestly clothes he had come to quite like, Issei straightened up his room.

Somehow, he doubted he'd be staying here again for a while.

* * *

It wasn't much of a stretch to say that Issei was surprised at what he saw when he stepped into the gathering hall of the Clubs building. He remembered the conversation he'd had a week earlier with Elizabeth, about how all the other members of the deck had been off somewhere, doing something else. He'd assumed that today would be the same story.

Suffice to say, it was not. Every single member of the Clubs deck had gathered, and laid out before them was a lavish breakfast. Even Raphael was present, seated at the head of the table.

Abigail was the first one to call to him.

"Morning, Issei!"

"Morning, all," the brunette said. "Didn't expect you all to be here. What's the occasion?"

"Well," Raphael said as Issei took a seat, "given that you won't be permanently residing here any longer after this, Issei, I thought it might be a good time for us all to gather and enjoy at least one last meal together."

"Let me translate, sir," Ridley said. "I don't think Issei speaks obfuscation fluently yet." The Eight looked towards the Jack. "Raphael says that he wants an excuse to make us all cook breakfast so he can eat without having to do any dishes."

Without even looking at him, Asteria (whose nose was, as always, in a book), who sat next to him, bonked Ridley on the head with an unused serving spoon.

As Ridley grumpily rubbed the spot Asteria had whacked, Raphael gave an appreciative nod towards the Ten. Then, he looked back to Issei, who had just finished filling his plate, grinning at the free entertainment his fellow Saints provided.

"Looking forward to getting home, Issei?"

"Yeah, though that's not to say I won't miss staying here."

"More like you'll miss having us around to cook for you," Abigail said dryly.

"Guilty," Issei said, grinning. "I'll be back when I can, don't worry."

"You're doing the dishes for that little comment."

"I don't think that's necessary," Raphael interjected. "Issei has an appointment he must keep with the Devil Kings Lucifer and Leviathan and their younger sisters, does he not?"

Issei blinked. "This early, sir?"

Raphael shrugged. "Well, naturally. The Devil Kings are busy people. Were you expecting another time?"

Issei gave a shrug of his own. "I guess so… just, you know, Ridley's drilled into me the duality of our roles. You know, the sun and the day belong to the Angels, while the moon and the night belong to the Devils?"

"I distinctly recall emphasizing that to be mostly metaphorical," Ridley pointed out.

"Regardless, Issei," Raphael said, "it's likely that this was simply the most convenient time for them to meet you, and thus they arranged it accordingly."

"Send your family our regards, Issei," Diethelm said. "I hope they adjust to your role as an Angel well enough."

"I'll do that. Thanks, Diethelm," Issei said.

* * *

Breakfast passed by only too quickly. Issei was rapidly absorbed into the atmosphere of barbing jests encouraged by the other Saints, and soon enough he was trading his own comments back and forth. Sadly, though not unexpectedly, he was but an amateur in this game of snark, and was destroyed easily almost every time.

Two hours flew by with the speed of two minutes, and it was close to ten in the morning by the time the Angels of Raphael's deck finished. Raphael himself, in fact, broke it off, saying that their meeting with the Devil Kings was to start in less than an hour. Reluctantly, they began to break away from the table as Abigail cleared the plates with her usual rapidity.

Yet as Raphael was telling Issei that they ought to get moving to Zebel, his Jack's attention was elsewhere – on the Queen of his deck.

She'd broken him slightly away from the rest of the group, standing a meter or two back from the table. In her hand, she held a small, black box.

"Issei," she said, smiling, "it's been quite good to meet you – you've been an excellent student thus far. And I'm also quite thankful to you for playing chess with me. As thanks…" She removed the black, fabric-covered topic from the box.

Within the container was a simple cross, shaped from silver and beautifully detailed. A few second's examination showed that it was a pendant, seven or eight centimeters long and probably three wide. Through the bail was a piece of thin leather string, painted white.

"…I'd like you to have this. I thought it might suit your new role and allegiance?"

As Issei pulled it from the box, he let a small grin creep onto his face. He considered a slight drop of joking snark to round the meal out, but for a gesture such as this, the brunette quickly shot the thought down.

"Thank you, Elizabeth," Issei said as he gently slid it around his neck and tied the string. To his satisfaction, the string blended in perfectly with the white of his clothing. "I'd be glad to wear it. Means a lot."

Elizabeth smiled, and quite suddenly he found himself in a hug.

"I'm not going away forever, you know," Issei whispered in her ear. "I'll still be here pretty often, no doubt for training. And I'll be sure to swing by and play chess with you when I can. Promise."

Elizabeth simply squeezed him tighter.

* * *

Once Elizabeth had quite finished and Issei had said his temporary good-byes to the other Saints, Issei and Raphael departed the Clubs building. Raphael had insisted on taking the elevator up to Zebel, feeling it was more proper for him to arrive there that way for his first visit. Issei didn't see the point, but went along with it nonetheless.

Today, however, they did not walk to said elevator. Not only had Issei successfully learned to fly with his two wings, he and Raphael were on a deadline. As a result, Issei and Raphael took to the wing together, blasting across First Heaven.

It was then that Issei truly realized just how much he loved flying.

He had enjoyed the learning process, and hovering thirty feet above the arena floor was certainly an enjoyable experience, but that was nothing compared to this. As Issei felt the still air whip his face, the buildings built on the clouds in First Heaven racing by beneath him, he started laughing.

He didn't stop until they had reached the elevator.

* * *

In complete contrast to the giddiness he had felt from the experience of getting to it, the ride up to the elevator was filled with nervousness and apprehension.

Issei had never been on this level of Heaven before – the home of the Seraphim. The place where his leaders dwelled, where the decisions that made Heaven tick were made. And now, he was to meet its leader face to face.

He had no idea what to expect as the doors opened. Would Michael be a hard, grim-faced man who treated him like a soldier? Would he be like Nero and insult him? Who _was_ Michael, really?

Yet when the doors opened, what greeted him almost immediately put his mind at ease, if only for a few moments.

Zebel's entrance hall was a beautiful place. Directly in its center was a table, upon which sunlight shown through a glass dome in the ceiling. At each of the four corners of the table was a fountain that trickled water into a thin, rectangular pool that surrounded the table's chairs on all sides; Issei could see the slight ridges that kept the chairs from being pushed backwards into that thin pool. Plants of several kinds were seated on busts along the walls, while several hallways led off to other areas.

Seated at the head of the table was a man whose eyes were shut, evidently enjoying the sunlight.

Much like Raphael, he had lengthy blonde hair, but his was untied, unlike Raphael's typical ponytail. Also unlike Raphael was his dress – unlike the vestments worn by Raphael, this man wore a full, golden mantle, with white-trimmed red clothes barely visible beneath it.

Issei gulped as the man opened his eyes and took in the sight of Issei and Raphael. And as stood from the table and walked towards them, it hit Issei like a palette's worth of bricks.

 _This is Michael…_

"Greetings, Raphael," Michael said, nodding to his brother before extending his arm towards the brunette who was currently trying and failing to appear calm. "And please accept my salutations as well, young Saint. I am Michael, the current leader of Heaven. Issei Hyoudou, I presume?"

As Issei took the Seraph's hand, he was able to get his first proper view of the face of Heaven's leader – and when he did, he felt the anxiety simply melt away.

There wasn't an ounce of hostility or questioning in Michael's face. Instead, there was simply warmth and kindness.

"Yes, sir," Issei said, his voice becoming less stiff with every syllable. "It's an honor, sir."

"The pleasure is mine," Michael said, nodding. "I understand that you are to return to your family and town today, Issei Hyoudou."

"Yes, sir, as much for the sake of my parents as anything else."

Another nod. "We shall depart in just a moment. Before we do so, however, I'd like to ask you a question, Issei Hyoudou."

"What is it, sir?" Issei asked, his heart seizing up.

"I understand that you were not faithful before this, Issei Hyoudou, and I will not think worse of you as a person for it. But I naturally wonder regardless, and I shan't beat around the bush. What is Heaven to you?"

Issei swallowed, and took a few seconds to think of how he would reply. When he did, he spoke slowly and deliberately, refusing to let himself trip on a single word.

"Heaven to me, sir, is a place and a group. The place is wonderful from a physical perspective, but it's the people that make it truly special. Heaven, sir, is the group of beings that answered my last breaths, that saved my life, regardless of why. It's a place where I've managed to forge friendships in a very short amount of time. And it's a society that I consider myself honored to be a part of. I wish to serve it as best I may, in whatever capacity I can."

Michael and Raphael both smiled as these words left his throat.

"I could not have asked for a better answer, Issei Hyoudou," Michael said. "I'm quite glad to have you with us." He looked towards his brother. "Now then, Raphael, you have the needed coordinates, correct?"

"Yes, Michael, I do."

Michael looked back to Issei. "You're aware of how to teleport and how to read teleportation coordinates, correct?"

"Yes sir, I am."

Raphael wordlessly passed him the paper, and Issei spent a few seconds scanning it. Then, he passed it to Michael, who did the same.

After Michael had handed it back to Raphael and stored it in his robes, he nodded.

"Well then, I see no need to spend more time here. We've an appointment to keep, do we not?"

* * *

When the three crosses materialized inside the venerable halls of Kuoh Academy and formed into Michael, Raphael and Issei, said halls were completely empty. Unsurprising, of course, given that it was Sunday, but it still made the place feel eerie.

Issei, however, did not have time to think about this before he was addressed by the Seraph he knew as his King.

"Issei, you'll have to take the lead here. You attend school at this institution, correct?"

"Yes, sir, I do… or did, I don't know."

"I've no objections to you finishing your education here, Issei. While it could doubtlessly be done faster in Heaven, I also suspect you crave the normality of a school environment. Back on the topic, however – we have very little knowledge of these buildings. We were told that the Student Council room would be the location of the meeting, and that you could lead us there."

Issei turned away from Raphael as his face went red.

Oh, he knew where the Student Council office was, all right. He'd been in there, being reamed by Sona Shitori, the President of said council, a number of times.

"Yes, sir, I know where that is. It's in this building, as a matter of fact. Follow me."

* * *

When Issei had pushed the door to the Student Council room open, he hadn't entirely known what to expect. He thought that the Devils' sisters would be two people he'd never seen before, perhaps having floated in the background but never paid any attention to by the young pervert.

What he most certainly didn't expect was to see Sona Shitori, nor Rias Gremory – who was only the hottest girl in the school and one he'd lusted after for her perfect crimson hair and massive chest.

Yet their presence was dwarfed by the two people who stood next to them.

Next to Rias stood a young-looking man. He was dressed in a darker variant of Michael's clothing, with a slightly more sinister air about it. Yet his face was jovial, friendly, even.

Next to Sona, meanwhile, there was a young woman in a green business dress who looked like she was three seconds shy of murdering him where he stood.

As Michael and Raphael filed in, the man next to Rias cleared his throat.

"Well then, now that our guests have arrived, let's begin, shall we?" He nodded to Issei. "Greetings, Issei Hyoudou. I am Sirzechs Lucifer. A pleasure."

"It is all mine, sir."

The now-named Sirzechs turned and gave a hard look to the woman who stood next to Sona. "Go on, Leviathan."

A slight huff exited the woman in the dress, but she complied. "I am Serafall Leviathan… one of the four Devil Kings."

"H-have I done something to offend-"

"You're coming to hurt my little sister, that's what you did!" Serafall nearly screamed, before having further statements cut off by Sona, who clapped her hand over her sister's mouth even as she turned a shade of red. Serafall, by contrast, looked quite dreamy all of a sudden.

"Lady Leviathan, I had-"

"Don't waste your breath, Issei," Sona said as she tried to keep her sister from pulling away. "Nothing will ever convince her that you're not out to butcher us all."

"I thought we discussed this, Serafall," Sirzechs said, a hint of authority creeping into his tone. "Your arguments were not found to be satisfactory. Thus, Issei Hyoudou is not considered a significant risk and is allowed to return home." He turned to Issei. "I'm quite sorry for my comrade's immaturity, Issei Hyoudou, Lord Michael, Lord Raphael." He bowed slightly. "I hope you do not take offense."

"No, sir, none at all," Issei said quickly, desperately trying to get this over with.

"Thank you, Issei Hyoudou," Sirzechs said. After a moment, he stepped a few paces closer to Issei. "I hope, then, that this step helps to ease tensions between our factions further and that your own happiness can be ensured as well. You seem a decent young man, from what little I've gathered"

"Thank you, sir." Issei could tell the compliment was meant as a slight jest – the mischief in Sirzech's eyes was obvious.

"And I'm sorry about my sister," Sona said, still obviously embarrassed beyond reason.

"Lady Leviathan is _massively_ overprotective of Sona," Rias elaborated unnecessarily. "Don't worry about it. She won't freeze you if you don't do anything to hurt her little sister."

Issei remembered the near-hysterical Leviathan of a few moments ago, and he quickly decided to file that under the folder in his brain labelled "bullshit". He didn't say that, of course.

"Now then, I think that about wraps this meeting up," Sirzechs said pleasantly.

"That's it, sir?"

"Well, of course," Sirzechs said. "What else is there to say between us?" He looked up at the Seraphim behind Issei, who'd yet to say anything. "Thank you for bringing him here, Lord Michael, Lord Raphael."

"Our pleasure," Raphael said.

"Then _we_ shall take our leave," Sirzechs said, emphasizing the "we" as he looked at Serafall. "Come along, Leviathan. We have work to do in the Underworld."

A pair of magical circles Issei recognized as a teleportation variety appeared beneath the feet of Sirzechs, and as Sona dropped Serafall, beneath Leviathan's, too.

Yet Serafall's glare continued to pierce through him, even as they warped away.

Once they'd gone, Michael turned to Raphael. "If there's nothing else, Raphael, I must return to Heaven."

Raphael nodded, and almost immediately, Michael teleported away in a cross of light.

With Michael gone, Raphael nodded towards the two Devil King's sisters. "Good day to both of you, but Issei and I really must be off. Issei's parents must be worried out of their minds by now."

"They are, sir," Rias said, her voice having a noticeable tremble to it. "There are numerous missing posters up all over town."

"Hmm…" Raphael said, stroking his chin a moment before turning to Issei. "Issei, hold still."

With that, Raphael placed a hand on Issei's chest. Beneath the palm, Issei could see an assortment of magical symbols forming and vanishing. Once they'd gone completely, Raphael repeated the procedure on his own flesh.

"A simple spell, Issei," Raphael explained. "Simply something to allow us to not draw any real attention. I don't really wish to have to explain your sudden appearance. It's not mind control, don't worry – it just makes people care a little less about us."

Issei nodded. "Yes, sir, I understand." He turned to look at the two Devils. "Thank you. I'll see you both tomorrow, I assume?"

"Before you go, Issei," Rias said, "can I possibly convince you to wait at the end of the school day tomorrow? My peerage attends this school as well, and I think it would be best if they met with you as you are now too, just to ensure we're all on the same page."

"As does mine," Sona said. "And I think the same would go for us for the same reasons."

"If my King says that's okay," Issei said.

"Oh, that's no issue, Issei. I think that'd be wise, actually."

Issei nodded. "Got it. See you both then, I guess."

"See you then."

With no further ado, Issei and Raphael departed.

* * *

Issei stood outside his house for the first time in a fortnight, yet it felt as though it had been much longer than that.

Before, he'd been a lecherous teen whose only thought had been the chance to build a harem.

Now, he was something else entirely, and his body and mind showed the differences. His apprehension was ratcheted up higher than even when he'd first met Michael. Issei didn't have the faintest clue how his parents might react, and he was but one tap on the door from finding out.

Yet the Seraph behind him made his actions far more rapid.

 _Whap, whap, whap_.

For fifteen or so seconds, the world seemed to hold still and in complete silence. Nothing moved, stirred or indeed seemed to exist.

Then, the front door opened, and there stood his mother.

She looked disheveled. The bathrobe she wore was thrown on in a careless, haphazard sort of way. Her normally well-groomed hair was a spider's nest.

Yet the worst was her eyes – where once there had been warmth and happiness and endless life, there was now gloom fueled by grief and loss.

For two heartbeats, his mother didn't seem to recognize him.

Then, the coffee mug she'd been holding slipped from her hands and shattered on the tiles.

* * *

 _And cut._

 _Yeah, I was originally planning to have the monster hunt happen in this chapter, but then I thought about it and realized that that wouldn't make a lot of sense. You wouldn't want to risk injuring this person who's about to be sent home to their family when you're explicitly trying to make a good impression on said family. Don't worry, it'll still happen, just in a later chapter._

 _I also decided to include a scene that I left out of Jack of Hearts. It's mentioned there that he wears a cross, but it's mostly a pointless detail. Here, hopefully it comes across as a bit more meaningful, given that it was given to him as a gift by one of his fellow Saints rather than just appearing from nowhere._

 _Finally, fun question for you all to speculate on: What kind of Balance Breaker do you think Issei will have? Normal or subspecies?_


	7. Pull Back the Curtain

_I do not own Highschool DxD._

* * *

"Hey, Mom."

Hands shaking, Issei's mother reached out slowly towards him, steadily crossing the distance between them to grasp his shoulders. Steadily, their grip tightened until his mother suddenly pulled him close to her. Her arms snaked around his shoulders, squeezing them as though to never let go.

Issei could hear her sniffles and her struggling to hold back tears, and didn't try to pull out of the embrace. Instead, he gently hugged her back, giving her all the time she needed. He wasn't surprised by the reaction in the slightest.

It wasn't until several minutes later that her grip loosened and she finally withdrew. The tears she'd been fighting back were flowing freely now, and she looked him over with bloodshot eyes.

"I-I thought you were…"

She didn't, perhaps _couldn't_ , finish that sentence.

Issei nodded. "I know. I'm sorry, Mom."

"Where… where have you…" His mother was stumbling over her words, not quite able to string thoughts together; Issei wasn't about to blame her for that.

"Where have I been?" Issei asked, reaching up to scratch the back of his head. "Well, it's… kind of a long story." He gestured to the Seraph standing behind him, and his mother seemingly took notice of the King of Clubs for the first time since she'd opened the front door.

"Oh…" She shook her head, as though attempting to find her manners. "I'm… very sorry… for my lack of composure…"

Raphael put a hand up. "There's no need for apologies, Mrs. Hyoudou. I fully understand. However, I do have some things I must help Issei explain. May Issei and I come inside?"

"Y-yes, certainly…" Issei's mother said. "I… I'll go find Gorou…"

Issei's mother stepped back and turned, striding towards the stairs that lead up to the second floor, while Issei, while taking great care to avoid the shards of broken porcelain, stepped into his own house for the first time in two weeks.

A fortnight wasn't a long time at all, of course, but it felt as though an eon had passed between his date with Yuuma and now. The home in which he'd spent more than seventeen years now felt almost foreign to him. Yet even as he took a breath of that familiar woody scent, that feeling started to fade as the nostalgia washed over him.

The sound of thumping footsteps broke Issei out of recollection as his father tore into his view. He was at full sprint, barely slowing as he snatched Issei up in a hug. Unlike his mother, who'd attempted to be at least somewhat restrained, his father wasn't even bothering.

"Issei!" his father yelled, tears flowing down his face. "You're alive! You're alive!" His voice was a mix of happiness and evacuating grief.

"Yeah," Issei said, struggling to avoid being crushed by his father's bone-crushing hug. "It's… good… to… see you… too," he squeaked.

After twenty seconds or so, his father pulled back and grabbed his shoulders. "Issei, where the hell have you _been_?!"

"Like I told Mom, it's a long story…"

"We've got time!" He looked up, taking his turn at noticing Raphael. The Seraph had an amused grin on his face at the energy of Issei's father. "And who's this guy?"

"Perhaps if we could find somewhere to sit," Raphael said, "we could begin that story."

"Of course! Follow me!"

Issei's father led them down the hallway and into the living room, where Issei's mother was seated. She appeared to have regained some control over herself, and she seemed to be joyous even through her tears.

Issei's father promptly took a seat on the couch next to his wife and slid an arm around her shoulder.

The brunette and his King, however, did not sit. They knew they'd probably be standing again in a few moments anyway.

Issei swallowed, wondering how to start the conversation before discarding all the possibilities.

"Well," Issei started, "I could try to slowly build up to it, but really… there's no way to prepare you for what I'm about to say." He took a slow, deep breath. "I was in the Heaven of Christianity for the last two weeks."

Issei's parents blinked at him.

"…what?" Issei's mother said after several seconds. Her tone was blank, as though her mind simply hadn't and couldn't process what he'd said.

"And I was, uh… turned into an Angel, too."

It was at these words that his father's face became a frown. "Issei, while I'm glad you're back, you must know that lying to us isn't acceptable. Least of all at a time like this!"

Issei looked over to his King, who nodded at him, before looking back at his parents.

Without bothering with another word, Issei released his wings and halo.

As they looked on, Issei could see his parents' eyes steadily widening and their jaws spreading to gape. It wasn't until several seconds had passed that his mother, the first speaker of the two, found her words again.

"This… this… this has to be a… a…"

"A dream?" Issei asked knowingly.

"Yes, that's it…" his mother said. She was speaking more to herself than Issei now. "I'm dreaming all of this, and I'll wake up and my son will still be missing…"

Issei shook his head and stepped forward, his wings curling around his body so that their edges were within arm's reach of his parents. "This isn't a dream, Mom."

"Th-those must be fake," Issei's father stammered. "This is all some elaborate joke, and that man is helping you!" His father pointed at Raphael.

In response, the Seraph shook his head. "Mr. Hyoudou, this is not a trick, illusion or prank. Your son is an Angel, one of the Heavenly Host."

Issei stepped another third of a meter closer to his mother and father. "Mom, Dad, if these wings were fake, would I be able to do any of this with them?"

Without moving a single other muscle, Issei let his wings flap and maneuver as much as they could. It was a slightly odd sensation for Issei, using these new muscles and instincts; his first attempts at flight or using his wings had made him feel like a toddler struggling to learn to walk. Hours of practice, however, had granted him that understanding.

Once again, his parents were struck silent by what they saw, unable to respond for several seconds. When they did speak again, Issei knew exactly what their question would be.

"How…?"

The brunette looked back to his King, who stood a few feet off to the side. "I think, sir, that this is where you come in."

"And you'd be right about that," the Seraph said, stepping a couple of meters forwards. "Oh, where _are_ my manners?"

All twelve of his wings spread out, his halo appearing above his head.

The jaws of Issei's parents, which had been in their laps before, were now tunneling down to the center of the earth.

"I am Raphael, one of the Four Great Seraphim of Heaven." He gave a slight bow. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you both."

Stammering, shocked, Issei's parents gave their own greetings in turn before Issei's father spoke.

"C-could you clear this up, Raphael? How did our son end up as an _Angel_?!"

"That would be my doing," Raphael explained. "He is now one of my Brave Saints – a reincarnated Angel, reborn to Heaven's grace."

"So, uh…" Issei's father said. "…Christianity is the 'right' religion, then? Which denomination?"

Raphael's eyebrow quirked up. "What do you mean, 'right'? You have me somewhat confused."

"What they're asking, sir," Issei interjected, "is if Christianity is the religion that's real, as opposed to the others that exist. Am I right on that?" Issei looked at his parents, who both nodded.

"Ah," Raphael said. "In that case, it both is and isn't. It's 'right' in the sense that we do have a Heaven to which believers and certain people are taken upon their deaths, but we are far from the only religion in existence."

"Which other ones are real, then?" Issei's mother asked.

Raphael shrugged. "All of them. There are as many Heavens as there are mythologies. Your son is now aligned with the Christian Heaven by the simple fact of being an Angel."

"Okay," Issei's mother said, slowly exhaling. "Let me see if I understand this right. Our son has been absent from our lives for two weeks without a single notice that he's not dead because he's been in Heaven. And he's in Heaven because _you_ turned him into an Angel."

"That's the case, yes," Raphael said. "I do sincerely apologize for the heartache I've caused you, but I could not send your son back here due to several issues."

"And what were _those_ , might I ask?" Her voice had shifted somewhat. There was still some elation at Issei's return, but now there was a hint of anger as well.

"You see, Mrs. Hyoudou, this town's supernatural side is run by Devils – our opposite in Christianity and, oftentimes, foes. We have been at an armistice for a very long time, but simply sending your son back here as an Angel without going through the proper channels would certainly be taken as an act of aggression that could lead into an all-out war between our factions. It took those two weeks to get those affairs taken care of. I had to prioritize avoiding a new conflict over your worries for your son's safety, and for that, I am truly sorry. I hope you can find it in yourselves to forgive me for that."

These words did nothing to reduce the steadily rising anger of Issei's mother; if anything, it seemed to be building up even faster. "Then why did you turn my son into an Angel to begin with if you knew it would cause us this kind of heartache?"

"Mrs. Hyoudou, when I descended to answer a prayer your son had made, he was dying. I would have brought him to Heaven to treat his injuries if he would have survived the trip, and I would certainly not have reincarnated him if there were any other way to save his life. Becoming an Angel comes with several benefits to a human, yes, but it also comes with new restrictions and requirements one must consider. I would never force it upon someone if it could be avoided, if only for the burden it heaps upon them."

 _That_ snapped any anger out of Issei's mother.

"Dying…?" she whispered, horrified. "He was _dying_? What? How?!"

"Your son was bleeding to death when I descended, Mrs. Hyoudou, courtesy of an injury to his chest."

"How the hell did…" Issei's father said, eyes swinging back and forth between Raphael and his son.

"I don't know," Raphael said, looking at Issei. "As far as I am aware, your son has yet to reveal to myself or anyone else exactly what happened to put him in that state."

Issei swallowed as his frightened and confused parents looked to him, their eyes begging him for answers.

He didn't want to talk about Yuuma, about how she'd asked him to "die for her". He didn't want to remember being impaled through the chest. He didn't want to recall bleeding to the point of unconsciousness, believing that he was about to die and still not understanding what he'd done to provoke it.

Yet Raphael had demanded he give them the truth. And besides that, there was no story he could come up with that would explain it.

And so, he began.

* * *

As Issei explained the events that had led to his reincarnation as an Angel, Issei's parents were struck silent, faces etched in absolute horror. Neither bothered asking him why Yuuma had tried to murder him and very nearly succeeded; Issei had made it clear that he didn't know. All he remembered was being asked if he'd die for her, then pain and a prayer.

Raphael, meanwhile, took the news differently. His expression was sympathetic, but he did not show appall the way his parents did, and Issei could only guess that he'd heard too many stories like this in his very long life.

"Long story short, Mom, Dad," Issei finished, "I'd be dead if it wasn't for Lord Raphael. Don't be angry with him – he did what he had to do to rescue me."

His parents didn't, or perhaps couldn't, reply. How, after all, is a parent supposed to absorb the news that their child was the target of a murder attempt that nearly succeeded?

It wasn't for nearly a minute that they found their words again, and even then, they were halting, unsure and communicated nearly nothing.

"I… Issei…" his mother said, choking back tears. After a few moments, she stood from the couch and hugged him once more. His father rapidly followed suit.

Once more, Issei made no move to extract himself. They'd earned this, at least.

* * *

Minutes went by before Issei's parents finally released him.

When they did, Issei's mother almost immediately turned to Raphael and bowed.

"Lord Raphael, I wish to offer my sincerest apologies to you. I was extremely rude and judgmental, and I ask for your forgiveness."

"There's no need to apologize," Raphael said. "Your anger is perfectly understandable. Also, there's no need to call me "Lord". You're not church members and you're certainly not my subordinates. You have every right to address me as an equal."

"If that's what you wish, Raphael, we will abide by it," Issei's father said. "But… I have another question."

"What is it?" Raphael asked.

"If our son is your… "Brave Saint", was it?"

"Yes. What about that?"

"Is _he_ considered your subordinate?"

"Naturally," Raphael said, nodding. "He's one of several, and my other Saints have spent the last fortnight or so training your son both in the workings of the factions and the church as well as in physical fitness and combative skills. They tell me he learns quickly."

Issei's father looked down. "So… if he's part of Heaven, will he have to…?"

"Spend a large amount of time there?" Raphael asked.

Both of Issei's parents nodded.

"Yes," Raphael said. "I won't mince words, Mr. and Mrs. Hyoudou. The reality of his situation demands much time spent in Heaven. He requires a vastly larger amount of training than he received initially and I also expect him to perform duties for Heaven once I feel he's ready." He put a hand up. "Don't misunderstand. I have no intention of monopolizing him completely. If you'd like, we can sit down and discuss a schedule that ensures you can spend as much time with him as possible."

Issei's mother slowly nodded, understanding. "I think we'd both like that…"

Raphael gave an appreciative nod. "Now then, I'd like to speak with your son alone. Perhaps we might use his bedroom?"

She and her husband nodded, their expressions numb.

"Sir," Issei interjected, "I, uh… I don't think that's a good idea. There's some things in there… well, I don't-"

"Is there anywhere else, then?"

Issei nodded. "The spare room down the hall from mine should do fine."

* * *

Issei led his King up the stairs that the Jack had climbed innumerable times. Walking in front, he took him past his own bedroom door, the first on the right. Then, his parent's bedroom on the other side of the hall. Past that, there was the bathroom. The wood creaked beneath their feet at every step, that same nostalgic smell washing in Issei's nostrils once more.

At the end of the hall, Issei opened the door to the back room and ushered his King inside.

To call the spare bedroom such a thing was accurate on two levels. The bedroom was the unused one for guests, of course, but it was also simple, plain in its furnishings. It was dominated by a double bed on one wall, with a simple nightstand and alarm clock to the bed's right. The sheets were a plain gray and black, easily cleaned and not requiring bleach should they be stained. On the other side of the room, a simple desk stood with a modest chair, in case the guest should want to write, use a laptop computer or whatever else a desk might be required for.

As Issei closed the door to the room, Raphael cleared his throat. "That's quite the awful tale you tell, Issei. Whatever they might be worth, you have my condolences. I'll keep that story to myself if you wish."

"That won't be necessary, sir," Issei said, not wanting to discuss this topic much further but also knowing that he wouldn't be able to fight the question off forever.

Unbeknownst to Issei, there was anger simmering beneath the surface of Raphael's calm expression. Yet he picked up on his Jack's discomfort all the same, and promptly changed the subject.

"Very well. Now, I'd like to get into the meat of what I wanted to talk to you alone about – your meeting with Rias Gremory."

"Yes, sir," Issei said. "What is it you wanted to discuss about that?"

"Mostly how to act," Raphael said, the Seraph's face as serious as he'd ever seen it. "While my own respect for Rias Gremory has just taken a massive hit, I still expect you to act according to your station. In a sense, Issei, you're effectively an invited guest to Kuoh. When you meet with them, be extremely polite, calm and friendly."

Issei was curious as to what exactly Raphael meant by his first comment, but he simply nodded. "Yes, sir. I understand."

"That said," Raphael continued, "under no circumstances are you to agree to anything or make any promises to them except to stay out of their affairs. It may come back to bite you later if you do. Devils are often excellent at twisting one's own words to their own agendas. I'm not saying that either of the Devil King's sisters or their peerages _will_ try anything like that, but better to not take the chance at all. Am I understood?"

Issei nodded.

"Very good," Raphael said. "Now then, since we've addressed that, there's one other thing – how much time would you be willing to devote to your training in Heaven?"

Issei blinked. "You're asking me, sir?"

"I think it's important to take your wishes into account as much as your parents'. You'll have the pressures of schoolwork to deal with as well as your training and anything else we send you to do."

"If that's the case, sir…" Issei said, scratching his head, "I'd like to spend every second I can spare on it."

"How much time would that be, Issei?"

After Issei explained his school schedule, Raphael nodded. "Very well. I can discuss this with the others in Heaven and present a possibility in a day or so. I hope you don't mind, but I took the coordinates of your house while we were here."

"So you can come here and find me anytime you need me, sir?"

"Precisely," Raphael said. His lips turned up in a grin. "I'll be sure to knock… though I might well not bother with the front door. Your window should work just as well."

"That'll be a sight," Issei said, grinning.

"Though of course, I won't expect you to do any training for a few days. You're being given a temporary stay of torture, Issei."

"What for, sir?"

"You'll be returning to school, Issei, and you've been out for a fortnight. Rias Gremory has already agreed to get your absences excused and the chance to make up what you missed."

Issei's eye twitched. "Yes, sir. I understand."

"Right, then. I suppose I ought to let your parents know what you've said and bid them adieu before I return to Heaven." He stood, and Issei turned and led his King out.

Yet as he passed Issei's room, Raphael stopped, a slight grin curling onto his face.

What on earth could truly be so awful that his Jack didn't want him to see it? Sure, his Jack had been a bit of a lech, but what was the worst thing that could possibly be in his room?

And so, as Issei took to the stairs to descend back to the living room, Raphael slipped into his room.

* * *

"And I recommend that you _burn the furniture_."

Raphael sat on the Hyoudou's couch, looking as though he'd just returned home from a war zone. There was a haggard look in his bloodshot eyes, and his hands were shaking so badly that he could barely hold the mug of tea that had been placed there by Issei's mother.

"Sir, there was a reason I told you to not go in there…" Issei said, red as a beet and trying not to look at either of his parents, who were each taking the opportunity to laugh themselves silly. Issei did nothing to stem this amusement; his parents had certainly earned a hearty laugh after all they'd heard today.

If only it didn't have to be at _his_ expense.

"You haven't seen too many women naked, have you, Raphael?" Issei's mother asked with a knowing, lecherous wink.

"N-no!" Raphael spluttered. "I'd never seek out such… _obscene_ material! The things that were on your son's walls! Words fail me…!"

"I get the feeling you don't have much of a sex life, either," Issei's father added, earning a smirk from his wife and an embarrassed groan from Issei.

"I-I still have my purity, thank you very much!" Raphael choked out. "As do all my… well, I suppose Elizabeth probably doesn't, but the point stands!" He swept his half-crazed eyes toward Issei. "Issei Hyoudou! Atten _tion_!"

Issei snapped to a rigid position, arms stiff at his sides with thumbs pressed along the seams of his pants and feet locked together at the heels.

"Your order is to clear your living space of those _vile_ materials! _Immediately_! _DISMISSED_!"

Issei pulled a perfect about-face, before nearly running to the closet where garbage bags were kept, snatching several and bolting up the stairs.

It was as he ripped the posters from the walls and disposed of the hidden magazines (all of which he made sure to not examine too closely to ensure he'd feel less temptation to keep them), Issei made another mental note.

 _Never,_ _ **ever**_ _let Raphael meet Matsuda or Motohama…_

* * *

 _And cut_.

 _Hopefully Raphael didn't come across as too much of a prick in this chapter._

 _Yes, canon does show Issei's parents to be rather lecherous themselves. And that scene was much funnier in my head than on the page. I'm sorry._

 _As for the slight military-type gesture near the end, that's simply meant to show that Heaven is a military organization. While Seraphs rarely act this way, they will occasionally treat their Saints as soldiers… which is kind of what they_ _ **are**_ _._

 _Next chapter is his meeting with the ORC and perhaps the obvious next thing after that. It depends on my level of laziness_.


	8. Mentality Switched

_I do not own Highschool DxD_.

* * *

The entire "cleansing" process of Issei's room took a bit longer than he'd expected it to. It wasn't that he didn't know where every bit of his porn was – finding it all was no problem – but until today, he'd never quite grasped just _how much_ of it he had. It was much like the time he'd decided to thoroughly clean his room and had amalgamated all his change in an old box.

By the time Issei was sure he'd accounted for everything, three trash bags had been filled and there was sweat all over Issei's face. A huge number of his video games were in the bag, along more erotic magazines than he had actual books on his shelf, every poster from his walls and even his alarm clock.

Taking one quick look over his shoulder, Issei was quite surprised at how barren the room seemed. Issei was struck by the image of a fire – one that burned away the vestiges now in garbage bags while scorching nothing else, not even leaving ashes. The room had once been a bastion of perversion and sin.

Now, it almost resembled his room in First Heaven, if less elaborate.

Somehow, it felt right and wrong at the same time.

* * *

When Issei came back down the stairs, he'd been planning to head to the garage and dump the bags in the trash. He was interrupted by his King's voice, calling to him from the living room down the hall.

"All finished in there, Issei?"

Raphael's voice had calmed a bit. He sounded a little less traumatized, at least.

"Yes, sir."

"Bring the items here."

Issei quirked an eyebrow up, but he obeyed the order, trudging down the corridor and into the living room.

His parents and Raphael hadn't moved from their spots. The tea that had been in Raphael's hands sat untouched on the table in front of his King. Raphael nodded as he walked in, pointing to a spot in the middle of the living room floor that was a meter or so away from anything else.

"Place the bags there and step back."

Issei did so, and his King made a fist.

A bubble-like dome suddenly formed, enclosing the bags completely. Raphael snapped his fingers.

A muted explosion went off inside the dome, the bags catching fire as Issei and his parents both jumped.

Raphael snapped his fingers again, and the same result was achieved, the soap-like bubble turning black with smoke.

At the third snap, Raphael began laughing, rising in both volume and mania with each _click_ of his fingers. At about the tenth snap, with Raphael's laughter now resembling that of the stereotypical mad scientist, Issei's parents looked to the Jack with worried looks on their faces.

"Issei, has Raphael gone insane?" Issei's mother asked.

"I'm not ruling out the possibility."

* * *

It was several minutes before Raphael stopped snapping his fingers, his insane laughter dialing down to a panted chuckle. Once he'd done so, he pointed at the bags once more, still laughing, and the smoke simply vanished from inside the bubble, leaving no trace of its existence.

Only then did the bubble drop. Issei blinked at what he saw.

"Okay, I'm impressed. I didn't know it was possible to burn something to ash and then keep burning it."

"I have to be sure…" Raphael said, panting, a crazed grin on his face. "…be sure… you can't ever sneak them back in…"

Issei saw no point in trying to tell Raphael that he'd had no intention of doing that. Instead, he simply fetched a broom and dustpan, disposing of the remains of the bags and their contents in a few trips.

Once that was done, he sat down on the couch next to Raphael and across from his parents. Raphael's face had returned once more to neutrality, but the ghost of a smile still tugged his lips. "My apologies for my outburst. It shall not happen again." He shifted slightly and rested his chin on his knuckles. "Mr. and Mrs. Hyoudou, is there anything else you'd like to ask me about?"

Issei's mother and father looked at each other and shrugged. "I was going to say that schedule," Issei's mother said, "but… perhaps another time."

"Very well. Shall I return in a few days to discuss it further with you?"

"That'd be good. Sunday afternoon, perhaps?"

"Certainly," Raphael replied, nodding. "Thank you for inviting me in. I hate to cut this short, but I must return to Heaven – no doubt some more paperwork has piled up on my desk while I've been away."

"I guess even being an Angel doesn't save you from bureaucracy," Issei's father said, a grin of his own pulling at his lips.

"Sadly not," Raphael said. "Good day, Mr. and Mrs. Hyoudou."

Once his parents had voiced their good-byes, Raphael stood, before vanishing into a cross.

Once the glow had vanished, Issei looked back over to his parents to find that their eyes were now the size of dinner plates.

"What the-" his mother said, sputtering.

"Where'd he-" his father added.

"Teleportation," Issei said. "It's part of the Angel package."

"Uh… can _you_ do that, Issei?" his mother asked.

"Do you _want_ a full explanation of an Angel's powers?"

"That'd be nice…"

* * *

When Issei awoke the next morning, he was left confused for several moments.

Over the last two weeks, he'd gotten quite used to his room in First Heaven and all the things that came with it. He had grown accustomed to the top of the four-poster bed being in his view when his opened in the morning. It took a few seconds for the events of the previous day to come rushing back to him; when they did, his eyes flitted about his room, as if confirming them.

His room was as barren as he remembered making it.

As the brunette dressed, the hours-long conversation he'd had with his parents came back to him in full recall. There were so many questions, so many things they wanted to know. They'd even had him keep his wings spread out the entire time, just so they could get accustomed to how Issei appeared in his true form.

A small grin came to his face as he remembered how they'd teased him about his first meeting with Gabriel. He hadn't admitted outright that he was interested in her, but it was obvious that his parents had connected the dots.

He found himself smiling wider as he laced the cross Elizabeth had given him around his neck and picked up his school supplies. Carefully, he made sure his hair was perfect, spikes and all.

It was time for his re-entrance.

* * *

The reactions started the moment Issei walked through the gate to Kuoh Academy.

Jaws dropped. Students of both genders did double-takes. Fingers pointed and whispers were exchanged, glances being stolen all the while. On everyone's lips was the same topic:

 _Holy shit, Issei Hyoudou's back!_

Nearly all the students of the school had seen the missing posters that had been put up all over the town, and those few who hadn't had long since learned of them by osmosis. The entire student body knew he was missing, and all had theorized as to what had happened to him. Had the girls he and his two friends had spied on in the locker room finally had enough and taken more permanent action? Had he decided to run away?

Whatever had been thought, it had been assumed after over a week that they'd likely never see Issei Hyoudou again. But now, striding through their midst as if nothing had happened, was that same student.

The student body parted as the Red Sea had for Moses, allowing Issei to easily walk through the hallways – and the girls of the school noticed something that made them wonder just what had happened to Issei in the last fortnight.

He greeted them casually, his eyes not wandering in the slightest. And that was almost terrifying.

The Issei Hyoudou _they_ knew would've been ogling their chests without even a hint of subtlety or attempting to hide his fascination. It was disgusting, yes, but it was familiar, understood. This polite, friendly young man who'd taken his place was neither of these things. And what was with that cross around his neck?

What Issei didn't hear, however, was something that would've delighted him a few weeks ago.

"Is Hyoudou _way_ more handsome than he used to be or is it just me?" one of the girls asked to her friends as Issei walked into his homeroom.

They just shrugged helplessly, none of them knowing a single thing and certainly nothing close to the truth of the situation.

* * *

Issei couldn't keep the small grin off his face, enjoying the shocked reactions of the student body. It wasn't like the Angels of Heaven who'd stared at him before; he knew these people, and that single factor made their surprise enjoyable.

He supposed he wasn't too surprised to see a certain pair of male students come running towards him as he sat down at his homeroom desk. One was buzzcut, almost bald, while the other wore a pair of thick-rimmed glasses that Issei had never seen the eyes behind.

"Matsuda, Motohama," Issei said.

" _Issei!_ " they both shouted simultaneously. "Where the hell have you been!"

Issei stretched his arms out behind his head and leaned back in his chair. "Elsewhere. Going through some self-improvement. That sort of thing."

Matsuda and Motohama's faces stretched into bizarre, cartoonish expressions for a few seconds before the two snapped back to reality. "Seriously? You couldn't have picked up your damn phone all the time you were gone?! Or even tell your parents? There's missing posters all over town!"

"Well… it was only partly by choice," Issei admitted, scratching the back of his head as though he were embarrassed.

"Guess it doesn't matter," Matsuda said. A _very_ familiar lecherous grin appeared on his face, one he'd seen and shared many times before. "I've got some new stuff I think you'll like!"

Issei gave a half-grin and shook his head.

"No thanks."

The entire room, which hadn't exactly been particularly loud to begin with, went almost completely silent at those words. Within the minds of the other students, their understanding of the world shattered with an almost audible tinkling of broken glass.

Hell was freezing over. Pigs throughout the world were enjoying their newly-gained flying abilities. Dogs and cats were sharing mortgage payments on their newly-purchased houses.

Issei Hyoudu, a person once called the "embodiment of lust", had just refused an offer of pornography.

It took nearly a minute for those present to recover from the shock. When they did, Matsuda tried to dart over to his bag, no doubt to extract whatever material it was that he wanted to show Issei, to try and incite the behavior he knew the brunette for. He wasn't halfway through extracting the item, however, before Motohama was yanked away from the desk and Issei was swarmed by the girls of the class.

"What the hell happened to you!"

"Who are you and what have you done with Issei Hyoudou?!"

"Why are you acting so weird!"

"What's with that cross!"

Issei grinned and remained silent, enjoying their reactions and waiting for the girls now surrounding him on all sides to blow off their initial steam.

A couple of minutes later, the female students finally got the hint and quieted down.

"One question at a time," Issei said. He pointed at one of the girls at random; he didn't know her name. "You first."

"Where have you been?" she asked immediately.

"Well, weird as this is going to sound… learning about Christianity," Issei said. He reached to his neck and held the cross up slightly for the girl's examination. "Hence this."

"So you're Christian now?" another one of the girls asked.

"More or less," Issei said. "I'm not gonna tell the whole story. Just that due to a few things, I ended up staying with a pastor without my parent's realizing it and I couldn't contact them – not his fault, just an issue or two that came up. I started asking him questions about his faith and, well, to make this short, after a fashion, he won a new convert."

"No way!" a third girl claimed. "I know lust is a sin!"

"You're not wrong," Issei said. "Which is why I've had to… _modify_ my way of thinking, if that makes any sense. Temptation doesn't go away."

"What, did you actually _want_ to see whatever it was he just offered?" one of the girls intuited, pointing at Matsuda.

"I'll admit it – yeah. Yeah I did."

"So you haven't actually changed! I knew it!" the first girl said, in a tone both revolted and triumphant.

Issei grinned. "Then why'd I tell him no?"

The girl opened her mouth to answer, but shut it again after a moment, apparently unable to answer.

"Any more questions?" Issei asked.

It was a few seconds before anyone spoke again, before the only girl who'd yet to be addressed filled the silence.

"…where'd you get that cross?"

"This?" Issei asked, fingering the pendant. "It was a gift. I actually went to the two services that the pastor conducted while I was staying with him, and one of the women there gave it to me as a gift."

The girl gave an intrigued nod. "It's… quite beautiful."

"Thank you, I thought so too."

As if on some unseen cue, the door to the classroom opened. In stepped the teacher, and the girls quickly retreated to their seats.

The teacher almost immediately noted Issei's presence. "I see that you've rejoined us, Mr. Hyoudou."

She made no further comment about it, for which Issei was grateful.

* * *

Throughout the day, Issei's apparently-changed views kept him as the center of attention. Every single time he walked down a hallway, there'd be ever-more whispering.

It was during his lunch that two of the people he knew would come for him did so. They weren't Devils. A meeting with a Devil might have had a productive end. What was coming would be a complete waste of his time and breath and Issei knew it.

He'd just finished his main course when he saw them walking towards him. Or rather, _stalking_ towards him. Each of their faces was set in an angrily suspicious expression. Despite it, Issei tried to greet them in a somewhat friendly manner.

"Katase, Murayama, how are you two?"

"Don't play with us, Hyoudou!" the brown-haired Murayama snarled. "You think any of us in the Kendo Club are fooled by your little act?"

"What act's that, Murayama?" Issei asked casually as he took a sip of water.

"Your little 'I'm a changed man' routine!" Katase snapped. "You've tried that on us before and we're not stupid enough to believe you a second time!"

"No reason for you to, I guess," Issei admitted. The brunette supposed he _had_ done something like that once. It had really just been an excuse to get closer to them for an easier sneak peaks at them while naked. "But I won't be looking up your skirts anymore and I won't be hiding in the lockers to watch you change. I swear that on my life."

The two girls smirked. "Got an epitaph picked out, Hyoudou? Because we'll be holding you to that when the time comes."

Inside, Issei laughed. After the two weeks of brutal physical training he'd been through, their attempts to intimidate him were outright comical. He was fairly certain he could keep up with them physically with just that and his Angelic form, and besides that, their nimbleness was not even worthy of notice compared to Elizabeth or Diethelm's.

Outside, Issei shrugged. He didn't feel like starting a fight on his first day back. "It won't come, but whatever. Believe whatever you want to believe."

With that, he turned his head back to his lunch and the Bible that was open before him, trying to finish the particular book of the New Testament he was on and writing down questions he had to be explained to him by Abigail.

Murayama and Katase, meanwhile, looked at each other and nodded.

"We'll be watching, Hyoudou."

They walked away.

* * *

The rest of the school day flew by, with the attention Issei drew steadily dropping. The whispers and looks continued, but they weren't as omnipresent as they had been at the start of the day. It always amazed Issei just how quickly people could get used to such things.

When classes concluded for the day, Issei did exactly as was asked, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

…whoever he was waiting for was taking their sweet time. The students were slowly filing out one by one. A few of the girls remained, but Matsuda and Motohama had already left.

After a while, Issei's mind started to wander off his current situation and onto the topic of light magic. He knew he should probably get back to the Bible, but his thoughts simply found the creative temptations of photokinesis impossible to resist… or worry about.

He wanted to find some way to impress the Seraphim, yes, but what could he _do_ with light, exactly, that would accomplish that?

Weapons were straight out. Anything he could come up with, the Seraphs had no doubt already created fifty times over. And simply making larger iterations of the same would do nothing, either – the Seraphs could outpace him there every single day of the week.

No, to truly _impress_ the Seraphs, he'd have to do something truly bizarre, off-the-wall and crazy, all while still making it effective.

Issei was left scratching his head as to what might fulfill _all_ those conditions.

So absorbed did he get in his thoughts that Issei didn't hear his name being called until the third time it was said.

"Earth to Issei!"

Yanked out of his thoughts by the loudness of the voice, Issei's head snapped over to the speaker.

Standing a meter or so away was one Yuuto Kiba, the school's male idol. The girls loved him, the boys hated him or wanted to be him… or be _with_ him. He was someone that Issei might have cared enough to despise a few weeks ago.

Gabriel, however, was vastly more beautiful than any girl in this school, and the other women in Heaven were rather attractive, too. According to Ridley, the high-level Angels had theorized that physical attractiveness was enhanced by reincarnation as an Angel, and Issei wouldn't have found that hard to believe. He couldn't say for sure, of course; he hadn't seen any other Saints before or after save for Elizabeth's photographs, and she'd appeared as beautiful then as she did now. All the same, it was an interesting theory.

As it stood, Issei had no real reason to hate Kiba anymore – he was no longer interested in the girls of the school.

"Yeah, Kiba? Were you sent to fetch me?"

"I was," the blonde-haired young man said pleasantly. "Follow me, I'll take you to the old school house."

It was as they left that Issei caught snippets of the conversation being had by the female students – and when he did, he quietly groaned.

"Oh, I get it! It was Kiba! He taught Issei the ways of a gentleman!"

"They're probably together and just using Issei's 'conversion' as a cover!"

"That must be it!"

"I'm sending this to the Manga Club!"

* * *

Issei followed Kiba all the way out of the main school building and towards one of the old schoolhouses.

One that was now _abandoned_.

It stood there, surrounded by a ring of trees, two stories high. Vines grew across its wooden walls, covering the windows completely in some places. Its old clock tower that sat dead-center over the double-entrance doors had long since lost its timekeeper; Issei could see a gouge in the stone path where it probably fell into.

"You sure this place isn't going to come down on our heads?" Issei asked, genuinely worried.

"Don't worry," Kiba said. "The interior of the place is in good repair. The president just likes it this way. I've got a question, though."

"What?" Issei asked as they walked through the entrance and into the front hall.

The front hall was set up in a style that recalled a European foyer. A single staircase ran up and down to the second floor directly across from the double doors that lead inward. From there, numerous doors to disused classrooms stood, with two hallways on each side that lead off to more of the same. The pattern repeated itself on the first floor.

As they climbed up, Kiba asked, "Any idea why the President wants you to come here? Or why Sona is here too? She wouldn't say."

"You'll see in a minute," Issei said. "I'll have to give you all the full explanation either way. You're a Devil, though?"

Kiba blinked. "How'd you know?"

"I have my reasons. Like I said, you'll know why pretty soon."

"Is this at all related to you being out for two weeks?" Kiba asked as they approached a pair of double-doors at the end of the hall.

"Directly." Issei saw no point in obfuscation.

Kiba pushed the doors open.

* * *

"Welcome, then, Issei, to the Occult Research Club," Rias said. She was seated at the desk that stood opposite the window that looked out into the trees, though it was currently covered by thick curtains. In the center of the wooden floor was a large, crimson throw-rug. Set up on that rug were three couches, lined up in such a way that Rias could address the three couches' inhabitants without standing from her desk.

Seated and standing around the room that was lit entirely by candles was the entire school's Devil population.

Issei swallowed as he nodded. "Thank you, Rias." He turned to face the rest of the room's inhabitants – there was the school mascot, Koneko Toujou, her distinctive white hair bouncing slightly as she chewed on a pastry. Kiba stood at the back, while a black-haired girl named Akeno Himejima sipped tea on another one of the couches. Issei knew Akeno, of course; she and Rias were regarded as the school idols, two exceptionally attractive third-year students.

The brunette made sure to keep his eyes well clear of her chest region; such a massive bust would surely cause him some embarrassment, and he didn't know what the Devils might do if they saw _that_.

Meanwhile, surrounding the couches were Sona and several students Issei had only just been introduced to. He'd forgotten most of their names very quickly, and only hoped that he wouldn't have to recall them too often.

Sona cleared her throat. "Now then, Issei, you should probably know something about me – my name isn't Sona Shitori."

"It's not?"

The black-haired bob-cut young woman shook her head. "That's a cover – my real name is Sona _Sitri_. If you call me that during school hours or around human students, of course, I'll deny it. The only reason I bother is because "Sitri" is a bit too obviously… inhuman." She swept her arm slightly towards the rest of the room. "Now, would you show the rest of our peerages what we brought you here for?"

Issei nodded. A moment passed.

Two white, feathered wings flowed from Issei's back, the red **J** on the back of his hand glowing as bright as the halo above his head.

The Gremory peerage reacted with some stoicism, with Kiba looking at him carefully, while Akeno appeared thoughtful. Koneko showed no reaction.

The Sitri one, by contrast, had several members who appeared flat-out terrified of him.

"I am Issei Hyoudou, Lord Raphael's Jack and a newly-reincarnated Angel," the brunette said. "Fear not." Issei couldn't help but chuckle slightly at his own slight joke, though no one else appeared to find it funny. "I'm not here to hurt any of you, and if things go well, we won't have very much contact with one another. I _do_ , however, have full permission to be here, as given by Lord Lucifer and Lady Leviathan themselves."

The wings and halo vanished, and Issei turned to look at Rias.

"Anything else, Rias?"

"Yes, Issei, there actually is," Rias said, "Sona and I talked, and we thought we'd extend an offer."

"What's that?"

"Would you be willing to join the Occult Research Club or the Student Council?"

Issei bit his lip and thought about it for a few seconds, before shaking his head as he remembered Raphael's instruction.

"No, I don't think so. I'll be busy with my work in Heaven too often for me to be here more than occasionally, which kind of defeats the purpose."

"I see," Rias said. "Disappointing, but I understand your reason."

"One other question, Issei," Sona added, "and it's the one we're all thinking about."

"Which is?"

"Rias and I don't really get it – as far as we were aware, the Brave Saint system was supposed to be for exorcists or otherwise devout believers, and to our knowledge you were neither. So… _how_ exactly did you win Lord Raphael's favor and become an Angel in the first place?"

Sona clearly didn't expect him to tense up when she asked this, but tense up he did.

"I'm sorry, Issei, I didn't mean to-" she started, only to be cut off by Issei putting his hand up.

"Don't worry, I'm not offended. All the same, though, how I got my wings is something that's… pretty personal. Not something I really want to discuss in-depth."

"If that's your choice, we'll respect it," Sona said, nodding.

"Anything else, Rias?" Issei asked.

"Yes actually," the crimson-haired Devil said. She reached under her desk and pulled out a bag. "I thought you might want this."

Rias unzipped the bag, and inside it, Issei could see a number of folders and papers. "This is all the schoolwork that you missed over the last two weeks. Don't worry, I've already arranged it so that you can turn it all in for full credit as long as you get it done by the end of the week."

As he began to comprehend the sheer size of the workload, Issei made a sound like a strangled duck.

Rias shot him a deadpan look. "You were out for two weeks, Issei. What, did you expect the load to be light?"

"I'm kind of wishing I'd just stayed in Heaven."

* * *

 _And cut._

 _Next chapter is Asia and prep for the hunt, then onto the hunt itself. Sorry that we're going a bit slow here, but a bunch of things have to get established on the ground. Things should pick up more after the hunt._

 _If I ever write a fic where he's in Uriel's deck, I can assure you that he flat-out wouldn't come back to school._


	9. Make Your Choice

_I do not own Highschool DxD._

* * *

As Issei walked out of the Occult Research Club building, the bag full of his assignments slung over his shoulder, he shook his head in frustration.

He'd wanted this, yes. Returning home to his parents and assuring them of his continued existence had been something he had wanted to do quite desperately for much of the preceding fortnight. But that did _not_ mean he wanted two weeks' worth of homework to suddenly be piled onto his shoulders.

The one comfort he could take in it was that the entire process of speaking with the Devils had gone far more smoothly than he'd thought. There hadn't been any interrogation beyond a few obvious questions, and they'd left things he didn't want to answer unpursued. More importantly, they hadn't made any requests that he didn't have an easy explanation for refusing.

Sure, they were probably quite suspicious of him. They had good reason to be; Ridley had mentioned in one of his lessons that while hostilities between Devils and Angels had cooled somewhat in recent years (to the point that a peace treaty was potentially in the works), but they still weren't quite friendly on a personal basis.

But still, homework was pain and suffering incarnate.

* * *

It was as Issei walked home that he first noticed a slight commotion. In the middle of the street, about halfway between the school and his house, he spotted a knot of people grouped around a certain spot. As he drew closer, he could see looks of confusion on their faces. At the same time, a girl's voice reached his ears.

"Can anyone understand me? _Please_ , I just need help!"

Yet as Issei closed the distance to the circle of people, Issei could see that there were looks of confusion on every one of their faces. It took a few seconds for the brunette to make the connection.

 _She's not speaking our language…_

Issei unconsciously snapped his fingers as he remembered that odd ability that supernatural beings like Angels possessed. He remembered what Raphael had told him, that language barriers didn't apply any longer.

As Issei entered the circle of people, he finally got a look at the person in the thin mass of people.

It was a girl, matching the voice Issei had heard. She was fairly short, nearly a head shorter than Issei himself, with golden hair visible. In her hands was a suitcase. These, however, weren't what was of interest to the brunette.

Those were the veil she wore and the cross that adorned her neck.

 _She's from the church? Well, I'm an Angel, I suppose I ought to help…_

"There she is!" Issei said, his voice perhaps a few decibels louder than necessary. Regardless of its volume, however, his words did their job – people turned to look at him and began backing away.

Unfortunately, it meant that he got the girl's attention, too.

"Y-you understand me?" the nun squeaked.

Striding quickly, Issei closed the gap between himself and the girl, and began speaking in a hushed whisper.

"Yeah, I do. C'mon."

As she took a closer look at him, no doubt seeing the cross around his neck, the nun's eyes lit up. "You're with the church!"

"Yeah. Like I said, c'mon."

Taking the girl's arm, Issei pulled her away from the group of people, ushering away anyone who tried to stop him with vague statements about her being his cousin.

* * *

Issei didn't speak to the girl until they were well away from the crowd of people.

"Sorry about back there," the brunette said, scratching the back of his head.

"Uh… it's no trouble…" the girl said. "It's… it's good that someone here can speak Italian…" A weak smile crossed her face. "God bless you, sir… you're like an Angel sent by the Lord himself!"

Issei chuckled awkwardly, fingering the cross around his neck.

This girl had no idea just how close that was to the truth. But she couldn't be told the full extent of things.

Ridley had been clear on that…

 _Now realize, Issei, that no matter what, we must maintain the illusion of God still being alive. If it ever became widespread knowledge that God was no longer living… it would mean the end of Heaven._

"Thank you… umm…"

"Asia," the girl replied. "Asia Argento."

"Issei Hyoudou," the brunette replied. "Now then, where are you trying to get to?"

In response, the girl pointed behind Issei, her finger extending upwards. As Issei turned to follow her digit, he saw what she was pointing at. It was a building sat atop one of the highest points in the town of Kuoh.

"The old church?"

"Yes… I was told by the people who brought me here that I could see it where the taxi dropped me, but… I can't find the right road to get there…"

"You know that that church has been abandoned for about nine or ten years, right?" Issei asked, a quizzical look on his face. "What do you need to go there for?"

"I… was told that the people who would be picking me up would meet me there. Somewhere I couldn't miss if something happened… they said that someone would be here to meet me and take me there, but…" The girl's face was sad, and she shook her head.

"Well, never mind, Sister. I'll take you there, if that's what you want me to do."

The nun smiled, though the expression was not very strong. "Thank you, Issei Hyoudou."

* * *

"And here we are," Issei said.

It had taken about twenty minutes of walking, but Issei had, as promised, brought this nun by the name of Asia to the church safely. While Issei hadn't been there too many times in his life, he was certainly familiar with its location.

That girl… Irina, he thought her name was. Yes, she'd seen to that.

"Thank you, Issei," Asia said. "Umm… is there anything you'd like in-"

"No, no, no," Issei said quickly, giving a wave of his hand as his eyes looked into the gaping black mouth of the abandoned building's opened doors. "That won't be necessary. Just glad I could help."

Asia gave an awkward nod. "I guess this is good-bye, then…"

"I guess so. Well, maybe I'll see you around. If not… well, have a good life, I guess."

"Uh… thank you again…"

With that, Asia turned and walked into the abandoned church, and Issei turned back around to go back towards his house. The bag with his homework that he was carrying felt heavier than ever after this detour, and he knew he needed to get home and start on it.

This place was giving him the creeps, anyway.

* * *

The next four days were a blur.

Issei would wake up, enjoy breakfast with his parents, then go to school and promptly be drowned in schoolwork. Once he got home, he'd find no relief, buried beneath a mountain of homework assignments as he was. He'd barely have enough time to eat dinner before going back to the papers on his desk, never mind any amusements. His parents, to their credit, picked up on this and left Issei alone in the evening so that he could work.

The only thing the brunette made sure to find time for was the continuation of his physical training. Issei was determined to not let himself slip in that regard, and in fact added another half of a kilometer to his run over the course of that week.

Only once Issei had fallen into bed did he have any time to be alone with his thoughts – and always they turned back to light magic. He desperately wanted to get back into that book, to begin his creation, whatever form it might take. But the massive pile of homework demanded his full attention, and even with it, Issei was barely able to finish it all to turn it in on that Friday.

* * *

When Issei entered the Clubs building on Saturday morning, his heart pounded and a thin trickle of sweat ran from his forehead. It wasn't that Heaven was overly-hot; no, this was pure nervousness setting in. It was one thing to be trained for combat, but entirely another to be sent into it for the first time. Even telling himself that his fellow Saints would never send him against something he couldn't handle didn't help.

His mother and father would probably have heart attacks if they knew exactly what he was doing. All they knew was that he was on some sort of assignment for Heaven.

He grew tenser with every step he took down the hall towards the entrance chamber. The brunette wondered what exactly he'd be facing and how he might bring it down. He was sure that Elizabeth would be standing there, no doubt intending for him to pick and leave immediately.

As one might expect, Issei was rather surprised to find that the Queen of the deck absent.

Instead, seated at the table was the Nine of Clubs, rubbing a metal tube with what looked like an oversized toothbrush. In front of her, set on two pieces of cloth, was an assortment of metal parts of all shapes and sizes. To one side sat several tools, none of which Issei recognized.

"Morning, Abigail," Issei called.

"Hey, Issei," Abigail said without looking up from what she was doing. It was obvious to Issei that this wasn't meant as a rude gesture; rather, Abigail was simply quite absorbed in her task.

"Uh… what's all this?" Issei asked. He knew he probably shouldn't bother Abigail, but he couldn't help his curiosity. Luckily for him, Abigail wasn't too prickly.

"Parts of my weapon."

"So… what are you doing with it?"

"Cleaning it." She looked at him for the first time since they'd started talking, a slight grin on her face. "Let me guess, you want to know why?"

"…yeah," Issei replied, scratching the back of his head.

"It's pretty simple. These all come together to form a firearm. It's pretty unorthodox, sure, but the same rules apply. Don't clean it and it'll jam at the most inopportune time… or worse."

Issei's eyebrows raised. "And you've got take it this far apart to clean it?"

Abigail laughed. "No, not really. I just prefer to make sure I clean every last inch of every single part. Call it perfectionism and a bit of pride in my work."

"Isn't that a pain to do, though? And to put it back together, for that matter?"

"I've been cleaning guns since I was old enough to hold one, Issei," Abigail said, laughing again. "And as for The Sweeper? I could put it back together blindfolded. Literally. I've done it. So, no, it's really not a pain."

"The Sweeper?"

A hand waved over the parts on the table. "That's the monstrosity these bits are all part of." She put the tube she'd been cleaning on the cloth covered in parts and picked up the last piece from the nearly-empty cloth. "Just about done here… say, you've got that hunt today, right?"

"Yeah," Issei replied. "Elizabeth told me to meet her here about this time… any idea where she is?"

"If I had to guess, getting the information she probably should've gotten days ago." Slowly, the brown-haired Nine turned the piece over in her hand, cleaning it with the brush and punctuating every slight turn with a word. "And… there… we… go…"

The Nine placed the solid metal rod on the cloth. "And that's all of them!"

"About time," came a familiar feminine voice. Issei's head turned.

There, in the doorway leading to the Saint's rooms, Asteria Stavros stood with an annoyed look on her face.

Abigail gave an irritated sigh as she began putting pieces together, snapping bits into place automatically. "Asteria, you really don't possess the virtue of patience, do you?"

"I have been waiting for over an hour."

"You've waited a lot more than that in the past. Stop whining."

"Your guns will not break if you fail to clean them after firing one shot."

"Oh, so you _were_ paying some attention when I gave you a lesson in firearm maintenance. Not enough, obviously. Besides that, I _did_ fire more than one shot since I cleaned this one last." At this point, Abigail turned around, having finished with what was in her hands.

"So, are you finished, then?" Asteria asked, nodding towards the table.

"With this one, sure."

"I think you've made me wait long enough, Abigail."

"You're so needy."

"Perhaps I would not be if my wife spent more time on me than her guns."

Issei blinked, and before he could stop himself, the words "Wait, what?" had left his mouth.

At this, Asteria looked over at him. "Wife, noun," she said dryly. "A term used to refer to a married woman in relation to her spouse."

Issei's head looked at Asteria, then at Abigail and then back to Asteria.

"You two are- "

"Married, yeah," Abigail said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Have been since we were reincarnated."

"…okay," Issei said. "Didn't realize. My apologies."

"I suppose it might not have come up," Asteria admitted, before turning back to Abigail. "Now then, Abigail, since you've finished, would you kindly escort me back to our room?"

"Well, since you took the time to sass me," Abigail said, a cruel grin coming onto her features, "I think I might just go pick up Arctic Fury and start working on it, instead."

Asteria's eye twitched, before her facial features began to droop. Slowly, they transformed into a sulk quite unlike any expression Issei had yet seen her make.

Abigail's face twisted in kind, into a steadily annoyed expression. "Oh, not the _pout_ … my willpower… it's crumbling…"

The brown-haired Nine's face slumped further and further, until finally she sighed.

" _Fine_ …" she groaned, standing up from the table. Walking over to Asteria, the latter's features brightened up somewhat as Abigail drew closer. "Come here, you…"

Once in range, Abigail's arms slid around Asteria's shoulders, their lips pressing together.

Issei found himself looking away from the scene as an all-too-familiar sensation went through his back. Instead, he focused on what was on the table – the gun Abigail had called "The Sweeper".

It was a behemoth of a gun, all right, easily four feet long. Issei counted four barrels arranged in an inverted cup-like fashion. Two sat higher, dead-center with the twin triggers, while the other two were each below and diagonal to the barrel's right and left. Underneath, a second grip extended to make the gun easier to hold. The gun's stock, he noticed, was covered in a number of Angelic symbols, all colored white. The gun's outer metal components, meanwhile, were painted a vivid red.

That was all Issei had time to see before a hand reached down and snatched the gun off the table.

"Sorry to break off our chat, Issei," Abigail said, pointing to the white-haired woman whose arms were currently wrapped around her shoulders, "but I think this one will start throwing meteors around if I delay any longer."

Issei nodded quickly. "Yeah, I get it. Uh… have fun, I guess?"

"I plan to," Asteria said, eyeing Abigail.

"Let's see you keep your wings from flickering when I take my shirt off before we talk about going there," Abigail said dryly. "Come on, let's go."

With that, the two walked back down the hall towards their apparently joint room, leaving Issei alone in the gathering hall.

* * *

Just as the door that the two entered clicked shut, Issei heard the building's front door open. A few seconds after, he heard a new pair of voices, though it took several moments more to make out what they were saying.

"…saying is that I'm not sure if he's ready for that level of creature." It was Ridley, the Eight of Clubs sounding unusually concerned.

"Like I said, it'll be his choice." The voice that replied was Elizabeth's. "And I'll be there to protect him if things go badly."

"If you say so," Ridley said as the two rounded the corner. They immediately took notice of Issei, standing near the table.

"Good morning, Issei," Elizabeth said, before nodding towards Ridley.

"Good luck on your hunt, Hyoudou," the Eight said, before striding towards his own bedroom without another word, barely grunting when Issei offered him the customary thanks.

Once Ridley had gone, Elizabeth nodded towards him. "My apologies for my lateness, Issei. I had some difficulty getting the third possible choice's information."

"Not a problem," Issei said. "I learned something interesting about the Nine and Ten and the deck today. Did you know that Asteria has the power to mind-control Abigail?"

"Through the pout that Abigail finds irresistible, yes," Elizabeth replied, smiling. "It's always entertaining to watch." With that, she nodded and placed the pieces of paper that were in her hand on the table, laying them out side by side. "Come over here, Issei. Pick your quarry."

When the brunette closed the distance, and looked down at what was on the desk, he found himself looking at three pictures, each of which was paperclipped to a stapled-together stack of papers.

"Now then, Issei," Elizabeth said, "let's get this started, shall we?" Her hand swept over the papers. "One of these creatures will be the target of your first combat exercise. Each one has differing strengths and weaknesses, but any one of them should be within your reach. Choose as you will; they're all about as difficult as one another.

Issei nodded and picked up the first packet. Stapled to it was a photograph of a large canine, three heads extending from its body.

"The Cerberus, Issei?" Elizabeth asked.

The brunette's brow furrowed as he looked the description over. Apparently, a juvenile example of the species had been sighted in a rural area in the Americas, eating livestock, and it needed to be neutralized before it grew more powerful and graduated to people.

The back sheet of the packet seemed to be something entirely different.

 **VOLUNTEERS NEEDED** , the top line of text shouted. Beneath it was another image of the Cerberus and a subtitle calling it such.

Beneath _that_ was a list:

 **POWERS AND ABILITIES:**

 **FIRE BREATH**

 **EXCELLENT SENSES**

 **HIGH SPEED**

Issei looked over the list, taking these things in. Then, his eyes moved down once more.

 **WEAKNESSES:**

 **HOLY ELEMENTS**

 **LIGHT**

 **WATER IN ALL FORMS**

 **FRAIL DEFENSE**

Issei's mind cut away the water weakness for lack of his ability to use it.

"Glass cannon?" he murmured to himself. Then, he took the final line into consideration:

 **DANGER LEVEL: B**

These "danger levels" started at "D" and went all the way up to "SSS". This thing wasn't all that strong, apparently.

"Did you write these?" Issei asked as he looked the final piece of paper over. "Seems oddly specific to this situation…"

"No, I didn't," Elizabeth replied. "The back page is actually quite typical for organizing exorcist missions in a church. They're usually hung in a place where exorcists gather, and whoever wants them as a mission can take one, speak with the person or people in charge of their branch of the church about being assigned to that mission. If that exorcist is deemed an acceptable choice for that mission, they're sent onto it. That's not the only way people get put on missions, of course – very often exorcists are sought out in particular – but it's a very common way."

Issei nodded, before picking up the second piece of paper. The heading was the same, but that was all. Instead, there was a picture of a large insectoid creature with a golden exoskeleton, though larger than a car and lacking either feet or a visible head. From what he guessed was the front of the creature extended a large, straight horn. It appeared to be airborne, and Issei counted ten wings holding it there.

The paper named it as a "Sunlight Moth", and described it as a being of pure magic; as such, it had great magical powers and the ability to fly, but very little in the way of defense or speed. It was ranked as a danger level of "C+".

Issei stacked this atop the Cerberus sheet before picking up the final piece of paper and flipping directly to the back. He didn't bother to read the front sheet, at least not right away; the key information for his purposes was on the back sheet. He hadn't gotten a close look at the image on the front, but it was repeated on the request at the back.

The creature itself appeared almost as though a tortoise had grown small tusks and had the anatomy of its legs rearranged; where a tortoise would have legs spread out around its shell, this one's legs extended directly beneath it, though that might have been a consequence of its size. Its neck was also longer and thicker than any tortoise would naturally have, even taking proportion into account.

The subtitle read "Long Gui".

The brunette frowned as his eyes skimmed the rest of the information.

 **POWERS AND ABILITIES:**

 **HIGH DEFENSE**

 **TREMENDOUS PHYSICAL STRENGTH**

 **HIGH STAMINA**

 **WEAK EXPLOSIVE MAGICS**

 **WARNING: FASTER THAN APPEARANCE WOULD SUGGEST**

"Sounds interesting…" Issei murmured as his eyes kept scanning the document.

 **WEAKNESSES**

 **POOR MANEUVERABILITY**

 **POOR EYESIGHT**

 **EASILY TRACKED**

 **DANGER RATING: B+**

It was the most dangerous of the three monsters that had been selected by a single notch.

Issei flipped the pages back, reading the report that lead to it – something about a juvenile being sighted in the Russian boreal forest and a request that it be put down before it could hurt anyone – apparently, these things were known to destroy human infrastructure if it happened to cross their paths. Rarely seen outside of the underworld, apparently, but occasionally one would escape to the human's side of reality.

After a few second's consideration, Issei laid both the papers under his arm back on the table before stacking the third one atop it. Then, he picked them up and straightened them.

"Decided on one, Issei?" Elizabeth asked.

Issei shrugged. "I was just thinking about something. If I could conceivably beat any of these things in a fight, why be selective?"

"You want to take on all three of them, then?"

The Jack turned around then to look at the Queen, a nervous smile on his face. "Yeah, pretty much. Unless you've got someone else you'd like to take care of the two I don't get, I mean?"

Elizabeth smiled at his words. "You think you can handle all three of these beasts?"

"Yeah, I think so."

The smile widened. "Then flip the packet over."

When the brunette obeyed, he saw that there were teleportation coordinates hand-scrawled on the back.

"Shall we get started, Issei?"

* * *

 _And cut_.

 _The next chapter is the hunt. I swear it._

 _Also yes, in this universe Issei knew Irina was a girl from the beginning. Because I think it's completely nonsensical that he spent so much time with her and yet never realized it. If that annoys you, tough._


	10. Destruction of Expectation

_**I want to know is there a way to reconcile our differences so I can make a proper review in your story because I am sorry because I love the canon way of doing things**_

 _Then I fail to understand why you're reading fanfiction. If you want everything to be identical to canon, canon is available. Go read that instead._

 _ **Good to see you weren't eaten by a shark and the likes**_

 _That'd be an interesting shark, seeing as I live 30 miles inland and haven't been in the ocean in over a decade. It was a nice, warm day, I was having fun, and then I brushed against something, and to make a long story short, I have still have scars on my leg from the tentacles. I haven't been to the beach since._

 _I do not own Highschool DxD_.

* * *

The first thing that Issei felt when he stepped from the teleportation cross, felt before his eyes had even opened, was the bite of a chilling wind. Almost immediately, he regretted not changing into something warmer before they'd left Heaven.

When he did open his eyes, he was greeted by a warm morning sun, quite in contrast to the cold wind that whipped at his face.

Directly in front of him was a massive lake, surrounded on nearly all sides by coniferous trees. The deep-blue water of the lake reflected the sun off its surface, glittering in the daylight.

Issei was able to presume that this was the boreal forest where the Long Gui had been sighted. What he couldn't was where it might be.

"A bit chilly for this time of year," said Elizabeth. She'd appeared in a cross of light next to him, and despite her thin robes, appeared unaffected by the cold air besides that sole comment. "Quite a beautiful sight, though."

Then, she turned to Issei and held something out to him. It was a black piece of electronic equipment, about half an inch long.

"Put this in your ear, Issei."

"Uh, okay," the Jack said, obeying her order. After tapping the device to ensure it was inserted properly, he gave Abigail a quizzical look. "What's it for?"

"It's a communications tool for short distances. I'll need to be out of your way enough that you can perform your task without me getting in your way, and this is a simple failsafe to ensure I can hear you if you should want me to intervene. I won't give you any advice, however – what was on the poster is all you get."

"Okay." The brunette shivered, but tried to ignore both the cold and his nervousness as his eyes swept back over the lake. "So… any idea of how we can find this thing? Maybe check some footprints or disturbances in the brush or-"

"Turn around, Issei."

Issei did, and for a few seconds he said nothing, simply blinking. Then, he broke the silence with his answer to what lay in front of him.

"Or we could just follow the obvious corridor of destroyed trees. That works too."

Issei began to walk forwards, but Elizabeth clamped her hand down on his shoulder. "No need to shuffle your feet for the tracking process, Issei."

"Uh, Elizabeth, we're not in Heaven. We're in Europe."

"And literally dozens of kilometers from the nearest hint of civilization save a single settlement that is fully aware of the existence of the supernatural. Using your wings is completely fine."

"Really?!" Issei exclaimed, a massive, goofy grin crossing his face.

"Indeed," Elizabeth replied. Her own face returned Issei's smile.

Instantly, Issei's wings burst from his back, the two white-feathered appendages flapping with all their might and causing Issei to shoot upwards into the air.

When Elizabeth followed him up, Issei's laughter was cut short by the Queen's appearance, and Issei momentarily forgot all thoughts of his hunt.

More specifically, Issei saw just how many wings held the Queen of Clubs in midair. There were a full eight of them, spread out from her back in a radial fashion.

The Queen's face became concerned. "Something wrong, Issei?"

The brunette jolted back to reality at that inquiry. "No, it's nothing. Let's see…"

As Jack's eyes began scanning the ground and the destroyed track of trees, he began to fly along its path, keeping a lookout for any sign of the beast he was to hunt.

* * *

It didn't take very long to find the Long Gui. After all, it was rather hard to miss in the swath of devastation it left in its wake.

All that said, neither the picture of it on the church poster nor the birds-eye view the two Angels were able to get of it did the thing's size justice. That justice was obtained when Issei and Elizabeth set down among the trees a short distance away from the beast. Through the woods, they could hear the Long Gui noisily cracking apart trees; with its mouth or body, neither was entirely sure.

"I'll be back here, Issei," Elizabeth said. "Don't worry about me; take the battle wherever you need to. I'll evade. Good luck."

"Thanks, Elizabeth," Issei said, swallowing. With a single deep breath, the brunette turned and walked out of the grove, into the path carved by the Long Gui.

It was only then, looking at the back that faced him, that Issei truly grasped the massive size of the beast in front of him.

The Long Gui was easily as tall as Issei's house. The legs that held up the gigantic beast were each thicker around than any of the trees it was destroying, each a pillar of scaled brown flesh that caused slight tremors at every step. The shell itself more resembled the roof of a house than a traditional turtle shell, and was easily the size of a truck. The tail that swished back and forth extended out nearly four meters, swishing back and forth idly as its front worked to rip apart the surrounding vegetation.

Issei fought to keep his breathing under control and to remember what had been on the poster.

 _High defenses… probably going to need the Boosted Gear…_

The gauntlet appeared on Issei's arm, and without thinking the brunette activated it; he only realized his folly a split-second too late.

 **"BOOST!"**

Issei tensed as the word echoed through the impromptu passage, and was thrown into near-panic when the creature instantly stopped what it was doing.

Rather ungraciously for its size, the beast quickly turned around, its car-sized head eying Issei for nor more than a moment before its mouth opened, the log within it tumbling out.

A heartbeat later, an earsplitting roar bellowed forth from the beast, loud enough that Issei was left cringing in pain even through the hands that had clamped over his ears.

Just as the brunette looked up again, he saw a sphere exit the creature's mouth. It was clearly a magical construct, an ever-shifting mix of black and white that both reflected the sun and absorbed it simultaneously. It wasn't particularly fast, but it was headed straight for him.

As Issei looked at it, the brunette remembered what else the poster had said.

 _Explosive magic…!_

"Shit!" the brunette cried as he jumped away. A few seconds afterwards, the sphere hit the ground where Issei had been standing.

As soon as the sphere touched the ground, it detonated, sending shocks riddling through Issei's flesh and kicking up a thick cloud of dust. Issei's knees trembled as he coughed.

 _That kind of force and it didn't even hit me?!_

As the gauntlet on his left arm cried its incantation a second time, the ground began shaking. When Issei looked up once more half a second later, he could see the beast moving towards him, charging at a speed the Jack would've thought impossible if he hadn't been seeing it with his own eyes.

Working off a split-second decision, Issei turned towards the tree line and bolted in, barely getting out of the way before the Long Gui stampeded into the space Issei had been standing. The brunette could barely stand from the force of its legs impacting the ground.

Luckily, the thing wasn't very maneuverable, given its straightforward trajectory and lack of compensation for Issei's altered position.

Frustrated, Issei ran back out of the tree line as the Boosted Gear chanted again, a pair of light spears forming in his hands as he did so. As the Long Gui began to turn for another attempt to run Issei down, the Jack hurled them at his opponent. Each one slammed into the creature's foreleg, but while this maneuver exacted another roar from the Long Gui, they didn't seem to affect its speed, given that the beast charged even faster than last time. And once the creature drew close enough that Issei was forced to dodge once more, he could see why.

The spears hadn't dug much more than about a centimeter into the creature's scales. While there was blood trickling from the wounds, they were hardly more than scratches.

Even so, as Issei looked at this, he tried to formulate a potential strategy.

 _Maybe that's what I need to do… keep scratching at it… death by a thousand cuts… slowly bleed it out…_

He readied another pair of light spears as the creature struggled to slow down, and chucked them into the same foreleg as before. Once again, they hit true, and Issei grinned even as he was forced to dodge a blast of the black-and-white explosive magic in tandem with the charging Long Gui. Once more, two new gashes appeared when the Long Gui had to correct its position.

* * *

It took a few minutes before Issei began to realize that the plan he'd concocted wasn't going to work.

The problem wasn't so much with the idea itself, as Issei would later reason. Death by a thousand cuts could, in fact, have been a completely viable strategy against a beast like the Long Gui.

No, the problem was that Issei simply didn't possess sufficient strength or skill with light to inflict deep enough cuts for the strategy to work, and subsequently, Issei hit a rather massive problem.

 _I'm gonna run out of stamina_ _ **way**_ _before this thing does…_

The Boosted Gear had stopped calling its incantations after about the fourteenth time, a marked improvement from three or so weeks earlier. Now, it just held that power, while a rapidly-exhausting Issei tried to figure out what the hell to do with it.

The Long Gui, by contrast, had very little damage to show for the last few minutes of its bout with the brunette. Sure, its foreleg was bloody from numerous small stabs, but it was obvious it had yet to suffer any serious injury and it charged with as much enraged enthusiasm as it had ever had.

As the brunette darted back into the tree line once more, he grimaced. He didn't want to have to call Elizabeth's help in, but it was increasingly looking like that might be the only option.

Using Explosion was out of the question. The thing's hide was tough enough that even with the massive boost to his strength, the brunette was certain that he'd only end up damaging himself by hitting it. Yet his light spears did very little appreciable damage, either; he tried to hit it somewhere else than his initial target, but its head and shell were even tougher than the pillars it called legs.

Staring at the Boosted Gear in frustration, the brunette wondered what he could do, if there was some trick he'd missed.

His physical strength was no help, and his light wouldn't help, either. Was there some trick he'd missed? Something that Elizabeth had thought he'd see? Pull out during this duel?

 _Damn it… I boost fourteen times and I've got nothing to show for it…_

As the brunette darted out, he barely avoided a shot of the explosive magic that the creature was so fond of abusing, and the emanating force of the blast threw him forwards. Trying not to lose valuable seconds collapsed on the ground, Issei formed a light spear, which he stabbed into the ground as he fell forwards and hung onto like a stick.

It was as he did this and the Boosted Gear slid down the length of the spear, directly in Issei's vision, that the gears in the teen's head began turning.

 _Wait… fourteen boosts…_

Within a fraction of a moment, all the lessons Elizabeth had given him on his Sacred Gear came back to him. One in particular stood out.

 _Sacred Gears in general respond to will and desire_ , he heard the Queen saying. _If you want to do something badly enough with your Sacred Gear, it will respond and try its hardest to fulfill your wish._

As he ran forwards into the tree line for the umpteenth time, the brunette stared down at his left hand. In it, he formed a spear. Perhaps it was a slim chance, but…

 _All right… you're a Sacred Gear, so listen up. I want the power sent to the spear, you got that?_ _Not to my body, straight to the spear of light. The spear, not me. The_ _ **spear!**_

For a single heartbeat, nothing seemed to happen. Then, a slight chuckle of some unseen creature crawled through Issei's head.

After that, a voice.

 _Thought you'd never ask, kid._

"Huh?"

 **"DRAGON BOOSTER – SECOND LIBERATION!"**

A blinding green flash left Issei barely able to avoid a blast of the Long Gui's explosive sphere, but as the creature repositioned itself, the Jack managed to get a look at the gauntlet on his left arm.

 _It's changed…?_

The gauntlet had extended. Where before there had only been a single gem directly over the back of his palm, a second now existed, this one nearer to his elbow. Two additional golden claws had also sprouted from its back. But the Sacred Gear wasn't done yet, and Issei's mind suddenly felt as though a hinge had been jarred loose – a hinge he hadn't even realized was there.

 _So that's all I need to do? Sounds simple enough…_

Issei grinned as he formed a spear in the Boosted Gear's grip. With a new confidence, one he hadn't had at any point before this battle, he threw it towards the Long Gui just as it began to run towards him yet again.

"Boosted Gear – Gift!"

 **"TRANSFER!"**

The moment the word emanated from the gauntlet on Issei's left arm, the spear of light suddenly swelled up to a titanic size, rivalling the Long Gui itself in length and being thicker around than the Long Gui's foot. As well, the brunette could see that the spear's light density had also been massively increased.

For the first time in the entire battle, the Long Gui bellowed in agony rather than anger. How could it not?

After all, the spear, unlike all the other ones, did not stop a tiny distance into its scales. No, this one continued all the way through, and was so thick that it cleanly severed its foreleg… and the leg behind that, too.

Suddenly deprived of two of its limbs in mid-stride, the creature fell, blood gushing from its wounds. Sliding a good four meters and rolling twice, it finally came to rest with the top of its shell facing Issei.

* * *

It was not for several minutes that Issei dared approach the beast.

Instead, he fell to the dirt, cross-legged, and waited as the thing wailed out agonized cry after agonized cry. The brunette actually began to feel sorry for it after a while, despite the struggle it had put him through.

Slowly, however, the creature's cries weakened, its shudders becoming less forceful.

But only once they had finally ceased entirely did Issei dare to stand and walk over to the enormous beast.

As the Jack did so, Elizabeth came darting out of the trees. There was a pleased smile on her face as she pulled Issei into a quick, fierce hug.

"Well, I'd say that's a wrap, Issei," the Queen said as she released him. "Very good job."

The brunette slowly nodded. "Thanks, Elizabeth." He put a finger up. "Don't tell me – the whole point of this thing was to get me to unlock this new ability, wasn't it?" he asked as he tapped the Boosted Gear.

Elizabeth blinked. "Err… no, Issei, it wasn't. What I was expecting you'd do sooner or later would be to try to strike the Long Gui's underbelly, actually. That's much softer. Sure, it would still have taken a few light spears to do major damage to it, but once you'd done that it would've bled out fairly quickly."

"Oh…" Issei said, feeling rather embarrassed at not having tried that. He'd thought it would be just as tough as the top parts of the shell and hadn't bothered.

"No need to worry, Issei!" Elizabeth said, letting out a chuckle. "I'd say unlocking Transfer makes this whole hunt completely worthwhile. I'd known that that ability existed, but all the information I could find on your Sacred Gear claimed that that was usually unlocked a bit later, and I…"

Suddenly, the words she'd been speaking died on Elizabeth's lips, and the Queen of Clubs slowly grabbed Issei's shoulders. Steadily, she pulled him behind her.

"Issei… let me handle this."

"Handle what?" Issei asked, quite confused. "What's going on?"

In reply, the red-haired woman's hand extended upwards, one of her fingers pointing to the horizon.

"We have company."

When Issei's eyes turned to follow her finger, he didn't immediately see what the Queen was pointing at. All he could see was a blue morning sky speckled with clouds.

Then, he focused harder, and saw what it was she was pointing at.

The figure on the horizon that flew towards them flew on a pair of wings completely unlike the wide, feathered wings Issei or Elizabeth possessed. Instead, they were thin and bat-like.

"A Devil?"

"It would seem so," Elizabeth said, her voice no longer the happy, warm tone she'd been using. Now, it was calm and calculated as the Queen's posture shifted to a slightly tense position. Over the next minute or so, Issei realized that she was getting ready to spring into action at a moment's notice.

As the figure drew very near, Issei began to make out the Devil in greater detail. They were male, and rather tall. Black hair swept across his head in a crazed fashion, while he himself wore only a pair of pants and a vest that exposed a chiseled stomach.

When the figure landed in front of him, Issei flinched at the obvious anger on the Devil's face. The Devil's first words to them did nothing to set the brunette to further ease.

"The hell's this about?"

"Greetings," Elizabeth replied. "I am Elizabeth Lanza, Lord Raphael's Queen-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't give a shit," the Devil spat. "What I want to know is why the fuck you're here."

"Being vulgar will get you nowhere," Elizabeth replied, gesturing towards the fallen Long Gui behind her as she did so. "My cohort and I were informed of the existence of a Long Gui in this region. We were dispatched to-"

"So you took my damn kill?" the Devil spat.

"You may take the credit for it if you wish," Elizabeth said quickly.

"They'll never believe me," the Devil countered. "I couldn't do… _that_." He gestured towards the Long Gui, no doubt referring to its brutal method of death.

"Then I'm afraid there's nothing I can do for you. You'll have to eat the loss of this prey. I'm sure you'll find new quarry with which to raise your name."

"Yeah…" the Devil replied, his hateful glare disappearing. "You're right, I will find new prey. In fact…" The neutral grin became a crazed smirk. "I've found some right in front of me!"

Without a hint of warning, the Devil leaped back, and from his hands, dozens of circles formed.

Issei's heart leapt to his throat as he realized that he'd seen those glowing circles before – Ridley had shown him pictures of them in his lessons. They were magical circles – the type used to cast offensive spells.

"Time for you to see why I got made a High-class Devil!"

Half a heartbeat later, huge blasts of magical energy came firing out of the circles, and Issei's arms came up in front of himself, preparing to be instantly annihilated. The blasts ricocheted through his ears, leaving him ringing while the dust left him coughing.

Yet when he looked up, he was quite surprised to find that neither he nor Elizabeth had a single scratch on them. Elizabeth didn't even appear to have moved.

Whipping his head around, Issei knew they couldn't have been an illusion – after all, illusions wouldn't create massive holes in the sand or dug out lines in the earth to Issei's right.

So why hadn't any of them hit?

When he dared to take a glance at the Devil who'd fired them a few seconds later, Issei noticed that their opponent looked as confused as the Jack felt.

"What the hell kind of trick is this?!" the Devil screamed.

"Hmph," Elizabeth said, folding her arms. "You're a High-class Devil who actually earned their position and yet you couldn't even perceive that you were seeing an illusion? Color me unimpressed."

"Oh, getting all high and mighty, are you?!"

"I don't need to when my opponent isn't more than an arrogant upstart."

"Oh, like I'm scared of some no-name Angel! Stormcaller Falcon!"

From nowhere, a bolt of lightning struck the Devil's hand, and from it, a form rapidly took shape.

After a moment, a bird the size of a car and seemingly _made_ of electricity hung in the air above the Devil's head. A second after that, it dove, claws stretched to attack as another huge cluster of magic circles formed around the Devil.

Yet once more, the blasts of energy went well to the side of Issei and Elizabeth, this time to the left. Elizabeth, meanwhile, formed a spear in her hand and threw it at the bird with a dismissive motion.

The brunette was mildly shocked at the size of the spear – it was easily three times the size of anything Issei had ever tried to create.

He was _very_ shocked when the electrical bird collapsed the moment the spear impacted it.

"What the _fuck_?!" the Devil screamed.

"You're rather stupid," Elizabeth said dryly. "I literally told you that you were seeing an illusion and you proceed to repeat the exact same trick that didn't work before? You're not the only one with a Sacred Gear, you know."

 _Elizabeth's Sacred Gear casts illusions…?_ Issei found himself pondering that, and what exactly she was causing her opponent to see.

"You're pretty damn stupid yourself, I'd say," the Devil shot back with a sneer. "You're the one who told me her source of power, after all!"

"I'll also tell you that it only affects one target at a time," Elizabeth said with a dismissive shrug. "I tell you these things because they don't matter. That information won't help you one iota."

"Oh really?" the Devil snapped. "Stormcaller Falcon! Balance Breaker!"

Instantly, Issei's head was left snapping back and forth as dozens of lightning bolts crashed down from a blue sky, each and every one of which forming into a bird equally as massive as the initial one.

Neither Elizabeth nor Issei saw the lightning bolt crash down behind them.

"See this?" the Devil said, laughing. "This is Balance Breaker! The ultimate manifestation! None of my enemies have survived it and now you'll see why!"

The birds shot towards them, and Elizabeth formed a spear to begin picking at their numbers with.

Her attention turned, however, when Issei let out a sudden cry of intense pain. Head whipping around, she was barely able to stab her spear into the bird that had run its claws up the length of Issei's back before it skewered her as well.

Once that was done, she put her hand outwards, and a thick barrier of light began to form around it.

Within a second, the birds could do no more than scratch at the barrier, whilst Elizabeth glared outwards at the Devil.

"You know, Devil, before you did that, I might still have been willing to let you live. After hurting my fellow Saint like that, however, you've good as signed your own death warrant."

"And what are _you_ gonna do, huh? You can't even fight my birds off!" The Devil gave a bloodthirsty cackle.

"I can and will," Elizabeth replied, her voice like arctic ice. "Then, you will die." Forming another spear in her hand, the Queen of Clubs spoke her final retort.

"Axiom Divergence – Balance Breaker."

For only a moment, nothing happened.

Then, the birds began flying about in bizarre ways. Some suddenly dive-bombed the earth, whilst others crashed into one another or lay writhing on the ground, unable to take back to the wing.

Issei could see no apparent cause even as the Devil began to react.

"Get out of my face!" he bellowed, throwing a punch at empty air before whipping around. "What, think you can run?!"

As he continued to swing insanely at different things that couldn't be seen, Elizabeth calmly dropped the barrier and stalked over to him.

When in range, she shoved her spear into the Devil's leg.

The Devil wailed at the sudden agony, falling to the dirt.

Three more stabs, these to the arms and one in the torso, followed, sending blood gushing out from the fresh wounds.

"P-please!" the Devil screamed, suddenly and very obviously quite aware of where Elizabeth was even as the falcons continued to be driven mad by who-knew-what. "I-I can make you rich! I've got my own-"

"Begging an exorcist?" Elizabeth spat. "Coward. As I said, you've already earned your death."

She stabbed her spear into the Devil's skull. The Devil stopped pleading.

As soon as she did so, the birds made from electricity vanished one and all, and Elizabeth turned around and darted back over to Issei. The hardness and anger were gone now, replaced only by extreme concern and sorrow.

"Issei! I'm so, so sorry. I was struck with a case of tunnel vision… you shouldn't have been gashed by that Devil's Sacred Gear…"

Gritting his teeth and trying not to tear up from pain, Issei shook his head even Elizabeth maneuvered around him to look at the wound. "D-don't worry. It's not that bad… I'll be fine."

"Looking at the wound, Issei, I can definitely say that you need to have this slash treated in Fifth Heaven."

"It's not that-"

"Issei, according to Raphael, I am your superior on this mission, and as such, you must obey my orders as long as they are within reason. We are going to Fifth Heaven. I need to write a report of this incident and you need to have your wound dressed so that it will heal properly."

"I'm fine!"

"I was not asking, Issei. That's an order."

The brunette looked over to the fallen Devil. "What about him?"

"He can stay there and rot. _You_ need to be treated. No more distraction, Issei. We are leaving and I don't care if I have to drag you back to Heaven. We are going. _Now_."

With a good bit of aggravation, Issei obeyed.

A few seconds later, the path stood empty.

* * *

 _And cut._

 _As you can see, I'm terrible at action scenes. And yes, you'll be suffering through a number of them._

 _As well, I will explain in the next chapter how the Devil knew about the Long Gui as well._

 _Off-topic – between Jack of Hearts and Jack of Clubs, which one do you think is the better-written thus far? I know which one I've enjoyed_ _ **writing**_ _more, but I don't have a good perspective on which one is more enjoyable to read._


	11. All That Glitters

_**In jack of hearts the characters are very bad, to the point that I cannot read the story.**_

 _You're entitled to that opinion, and I can't say it's an unfair criticism. I could elaborate at length about why I think canon Issei and the ORC are badly written, but this isn't the place for that._

 _ **Yo hol up, how are Abigail and Asteria married? Ain't it against the rules of Christianity to be lesbian/gay?**_

 _By the Bible that DxD contradicts constantly, yes. In practice, it varies heavily by church and denomination. Some bless same-sex marriages, others will throw you out simply for being homosexual._

 _I do not own Highschool DxD._

* * *

"So then, Issei," Raphael asked, "besides the wound, how did your hunt go?"

"Before or after we were attacked by the High-class Devil, sir?"

Issei stood in the middle of an exam room in Fifth Heaven's hospital, his King standing behind him. The brunette's bare torso was exposed, shirt having been removed at Raphael's insistence; Issei had been embarrassed at first, but he'd ultimately obeyed.

Now, the brunette felt a cool liquid slide up his back and the pain stabbing through his back slowly deadened. Issei knew what it was, of course; Ridley had told him of the water Raphael used. He had absolute control over that element, solid or liquid. He could heal or harm with equal skill.

Luckily, Issei was on the receiving end of the former attribute.

"I'm guessing there's a story to that," Raphael said. "I must ask, though – was it the monster or the Devil who made this gash?"

"The Devil, sir. After some work, I managed to kill the monster Elizabeth sent me after. Save a few tremor shocks, no real injury."

"I see. What did she send you after?"

"A juvenile Long Gui."

As the pain in Issei's back vanished completely, Raphael came around to Issei's front, a frown on his face. "I see… it seems I'll need to have a discussion with Elizabeth. Sending you after a creature like that was a tad irresponsible, even disregarding her presence. Regardless, my congratulations on your hunt."

"Thank you, sir."

"Onto the next obvious question, then. How on earth did you end up in a fight with a High-class Devil?"

"Well," Issei said, scratching his head as he threw his shirt back on, "I'm not really sure. He just showed up out of nowhere. Elizabeth tried to talk him down, but he blew a fuse and attacked."

"And he managed to strike you in the ensuing fight?" Raphael asked.

"Yeah, though in my defense, sir, _Elizabeth_ was the one who dragged me back here. I thought she was overreacting."

"Well then, good on her for overruling you," Raphael said sharply.

Issei blinked. "Sir, I'm not _that_ weak- "

"This isn't a discussion of weakness, Issei," Raphael continued, cutting Issei off. "It's not the action of a weak man to seek medical treatment for injuries, not at a time like this. Heaven is not in a situation where medical care must be rationed out to many people with much worse wounds. There are very few significant injuries in Heaven. If we were to let you have your way and let those deep wounds go untreated, they would surely become infected, which would then require that we expend more resources than we normally would to heal the same wounds. There is literally no reason not to simply have your wounds treated here and now."

Issei swallowed. Once more, his King had left him devoid of a counterargument, and the Jack could only reply with a meek acknowledgment.

Raphael nodded, his face becoming neutral. "Just to make it clear, Issei, I'm not angry at you. It's just that… well, the idea some have that medical treatment is for cowards is one that annoys me quite a lot."

"I understand, sir. But… I've got a couple of questions."

"What are those, Issei?"

"Elizabeth killed that Devil who attacked us. What's gonna happen now? Is she going to be in trouble? Will I? I mean, I know Elizabeth mostly went after High-class Devils when she was an exorcist, but she's an Angel now, and – "

Raphael shook his head, putting his hand up. "Don't let your thoughts run away with themselves, Issei. Conflicts like this are still more common than they should be. If the High-class Devil picked the fight, which your words imply he did, then there's little argument left. The Devil Kings are exceedingly unlikely to risk war over a small-scale battle like this anyway."

"I understand, sir," Issei said, nodding slowly. "Thank you for the reassurance."

"Not a problem, Issei," Raphael said, patting the brunette on the shoulder. "Your injury is fixed." His lips turned upwards in a slight smirk. "Try to avoid hurting yourself too much."

"No promises. I've got two more beasts to deal with today. But, before I go…"

"What is it?"

"Something that the rest of the deck told me a few weeks ago. They said you were looking at someone to take as your Six. Just curious, did they refuse?"

Raphael grinned. "Well, no. The better phrasing would be less that I'm looking someone – I've already decided she would make an excellent addition to the deck if she were to accept. It's more that I'm looking _for_ her. She's made herself rather hard to find."

Issei raised an eyebrow at this. "Think it's deliberate?"

"Most likely."

"Sir, if she's trying that hard to not be found… uh, why do you think she'll ever accept even if you do find her?"

"Once I do find her, I'll just need to clear up the misconception. She probably thinks I'm out for her life." A slight smirk cracked the Seraph's features. "And no, I won't tell you why just yet. Not until I've either reincarnated her or heard her refusal."

The brunette tapped his chin, an idea popping into his head as he mulled over his annoyance. "Is that something we could help you with, sir? Finding her, I mean?"

The Seraph chuckled. "I appreciate the thought, Issei, but I'll have to refuse. Putting aside that a group of Angels coming to find her might make her skip town entirely, I doubt she'd believe anyone but myself. And even disregarding _those_ points, I severely doubt you can read either English or French. She lives in Quebec, after all."

"All right," Issei said, shoulders slumping. "Sorry I can't be of any help, sir."

"Oh, no problem. This is my own selfish little issue anyway. It'd be wrong of me to drag you into it." With that, he tossed Issei back his shirt and gestured towards the door. "I hate to be rude, Issei, but I have some things I need to take care of."

"Good-bye, Raphael."

"Good-bye, Issei… and good hunting."

* * *

Issei strode from the hospital with two thoughts competing for his attention – the more immediate issue of finding Elizabeth, and the longer-term matter of wondering who this person Raphael was trying to recruit was. What exorcist would deliberately hide themselves away from an Angel?

It wasn't a fierce debate, though, and after replacing his torn shirt, the Jack of Clubs quickly returned to the Clubs building, expecting the Queen of Clubs would be waiting for him there.

This was promptly proven wrong; there was absolutely no sign of her in the building, nor of anyone else, for that matter. Checking the library proved equally fruitless, as the person at the desk confirmed that they hadn't seen heads or tails of her.

"Any idea where she might be?" Issei asked. "I already checked our building. She's not there, and I'm not sure where else to look…"

The man behind the desk shrugged helplessly. "Don't know her well enough. You could try the central gathering hall, I guess, but I wouldn't know anywhere else besides that."

But when Issei went there, there was no sign of her there, either, and Issei didn't hang around long enough to double-check on account of every Angel there staring at him and whispering to each other. Issei supposed that wasn't surprising, given that none of them would have known him and that word had probably gotten around about his nonbelieving past. All the same, however, he left almost as soon as he arrived.

A lack of places to check, lack of knowledge of who would know Elizabeth well enough to make suggestions sans Raphael, all mixed with an unwillingness to bother the same left Issei to go back to his own home in Heaven.

He went back there and sat at the gathering hall table in front of the notices, letting his thoughts wander over the previous couple of hours.

The fight with the Long Gui? The teenage Angel knew he'd never forget that. Its titanic size, its sheer aggression and blasts of energy left quite the impression. And that was just a juvenile – what were _adults_ like? He knew he'd have to ask someone who knew more about them or read up on them later.

The Devil, on the other hand, had been almost forgettable, sans Issei's own injury by the Sacred Gear. Elizabeth had been the real star of the show with how easily she'd dispatched him. But it created questions all its own – what had her Sacred Gear let her do? And more importantly, what was this so-called "Balance Breaker"? Elizabeth had never mentioned it in her lessons, which had quickly shifted to training in hand-to-hand combat after Issei grasped the basics of his Sacred Gear.

Now, though, the wounds were licked, and he still had two more creatures to deal with. He was raring to go, but he was stuck until Elizabeth got back from wherever she'd gotten to.

Issei felt his hands clench and unclench in frustration as his eyes drifted over the packets in front of him, left where they'd been when he and Elizabeth had departed.

And as they did, Issei felt a tiny spark catch in his mind.

As if possessed, his arm drifted across the table towards the papers left there. Snatching up the one to his left, he pulled it close.

The sunlight moth's picture stared back at him through its eyeless, headless form. Slowly, his eyes slid down the paper.

 _High magical skill… weak defenses…_

A rebellious idea was beginning to form in Issei's brain. And with it came a familiar, childish sensation, in which Issei knew he would follow through with it even as his conscious mind talked himself out of it.

Slowly, he flipped the packet over. Sure enough, there was a set of coordinates for teleportation.

 _Elizabeth's going to be mad at you! You could get killed!_

But his own will and urges would have none of it, and he found himself looking left and right, in some final assurance that no one else was there. Convinced of this, he looked back at the coordinates on the page and began to focus.

* * *

When the glowing cross took the shape of Issei's form, he found himself in another forest. But it being a forest was all it had in connection to the boreal forest where he had taken on the Long Gui.

This one didn't have conifers, and there weren't any lakes. Thick, broad-leafed trees loomed large overhead, shrouding the leaf-coated floor in darkness. More than that, though, it was blazing hot and so humid that Issei began sweating almost immediately.

Shaking his head, he turned and stared through the grove, trying to ignore the moisture quickly building up in his shirt and the insects that were beginning to swarm him. It wasn't these little bugs he was interested in.

Issei knew he'd followed the coordinates exactly. This was where he needed to be.

 _But where the hell's the moth…?_

His head whipped around, looking for the distinctive golden form of the insect. And while he didn't spy the moth, he did spy something that intrigued him.

It was a tiny detail, one he might have even passed over had he not been specifically looking for oddities, but it was enough.

One of the trees, perhaps ten meters to his left side, had a hole gouged through its trunk. Intrigued, Issei walked through the underbrush, ignoring the vegetation that tugged and scraped at his clothing as he did so. Upon closing the distance and pressing his hand against it curiously, Issei noticed something else.

The tree's bark wasn't pliable and slightly soft like a healthy tree would have. Instead, it was flaking, brittle. It cracked without too much effort on Issei's part.

The tree was dead, and whatever did it had done it fairly recently, too, if the fact that there were still leaves on it were anything to go by.

As Issei looked around, he began to realize that this tree wasn't the only one. As his eyes scanned upwards, he noticed that nearly all of them seemed to have holes in them. Most were just much further up, so that he hadn't noticed originally.

 _This the moth's doing?_

The thought had just gone through the Jack's brain when he heard the noise.

Issei didn't know the word to describe the sound, exactly. It was a combination of a loud blast and a distinct crunching noise, as though someone were –

 _Grinding vegetation_ …

Idiot or not, Issei was more than capable of connecting dots. After taking a quick examination of his surroundings to reassure himself that no one was there, he spread his wings and jumped to the air, flying up to a high branch to observe his surroundings. His head whipped this way and that, looking desperately for any sign of the source of the noise. For several seconds he spied nothing.

Then, in the corner of his eye, and for no more than an instant, a flash of gold clashed against the green.

Issei didn't dare trying to fly through the thick forest of trees. He wasn't _that_ skilled in midair. Instead, he let himself drift to the forest floor below, and then set off at a sprint in the direction of the golden flicker. As he drew closer to where he'd seen the light, Issei became faintly aware of a dull clicking sound.

Then the moth was in front of him all at once, and once more Issei was stunned by a creature. This, however, wasn't down to its size. Yes, the moth was very large, but he'd expected that.

No, the moth was genuinely beautiful in flight. Its golden wings shimmered even in the darkness of the forest floor. They beat in a gentle and soft rhythm, holding the moth in place with barely a sound despite their size. It made no growls, no chirps, no snarls, no noises befitting of an animal. It was ethereal, otherworldly in its every movement and feature.

But a moment's passing allowed Issei to see the source of the clicking sound, and with it, the reason for the moth to be targeted in the first place.

The moth's horn, silver in coloration, had been rammed headlong into a tree, and even as Issei watched, he could see the tree's bark changing, its leaves turning brown.

"It's killing it…" Issei whispered to himself.

He shook his head. He knew what he was here for. Automatically, he held his arm up, the crimson gauntlet forming over his left arm.

 **"BOOST!"**

Just as he'd feared, the moth wasn't deaf, and swiftly withdrew its horn from the tree to turn and face him.

For a few seconds, the world held still, the brunette staring into the moth's headless form.

Then, Issei saw a thin line of light spray from the moth's horn. It painted the ground, leaving a glowing trail that the brunette easily sidestepped. Despite this, the moth did not stop, and continued spraying the line all the way up a nearby tree.

It was after a moment that Issei flung himself away from the line – because the line had begun exploding.

It was as though every centimeter of the line had turned into a tiny quantity of nitroglycerin, each blast causing the next one to go off, leaving a lengthy gouge in the earth exactly along its path.

The brunette barely had time to dart behind another tree before the tree which had been painted with the light detonated.

The concussive force of the blast nearly knocked Issei off of his feet, the shattering remnants of wood and bark flying past on both sides of the tree. Ears ringing and vision pulsing, Issei stood, forcing his eyes back onto the moth. He supposed his Sacred Gear must have chanted again, but he wasn't paying attention to it.

Or rather, the three yellow lights that had just appeared in front of it and were now shooting towards Issei.

Once again, Issei ran, but the three "missile-lights" did not continue past. Instead, two turned and followed him in his path.

The third only stopped because it hit another tree – which promptly had an enormous chunk blasted out of its side. Issei could hear the giant creaking and groaning, the dead bark cracking and snapping apart as physics took over and the tree fell towards the missing chunk. In a snap decision, Issei took to the wing, and he was quickly grateful that he'd done so.

When the massive dead tree smashed into the ground, Issei was certain he'd have fallen if he'd still been on the ground.

That still left the problem of the moth and the two lights still trailing him, however.

The brunette set down a distance away from the moth and ran back the way he had come. It was no more than a temporary retreat, designed to let him figure out what to do. He wasn't terrified, not in the way he'd been of the Long Gui.

As he'd expected, the moth did not follow. Only the lights, which soon enough crashed themselves into dead trees.

Once the lights were dealt with, Issei took several deep breaths, ignoring the incantation of his Sacred Gear. He hadn't been tracking how many he was at, but he knew he was at eleven instinctively.

Hell, the Sacred Gear had injected information straight into his brain before. It wasn't unlikely that it was the same thing here.

 _Gotta scope this thing out… see what it takes to hurt it… the flier said its defenses sucked…_

Nodding, Issei stood for another half minute until he hit his maximum cap of fourteen boosts. Then, he walked slowly back towards the moth, eventually bringing it back into his sights.

As he'd hoped, the moth was back in its original position, doing whatever it was doing with its horn to the tree.

Nodding to himself, Issei formed dozens of tiny, knife-sized spears in his hand. All told, they would have equaled one of his normal-sized spears.

After a moment, the Jack hurled them towards the beautiful, yet deadly moth. And for a moment, he was absolutely elated to see every single one of the tiny spears either pierce the creature completely or bury themselves in its golden form.

That elation died as the horn retracted from the trunk and the moth turned to face him once more.

Before his very eyes, the gashes and cuts regenerated, each and every hole filling in within seconds. And the worst part of it all was that the moth didn't seem to care in the least about its injuries – its flying pattern never changed, and it cared nothing for its aggressor's attempts to put it down.

 _Guess it doesn't need defense when it can just regenerate the damage…_

Issei jumped as this thought went through his head, sprinting away from the new line of light that the moth fired. Explosions shook the ground and blasted apart what remained of the original fallen giant, but Issei was too far away for it to matter. As he ran in a semi-clockwise circle around the moth, Issei sized it up, trying to think of a new solution.

As he did so, the sunlight from the newly-created holes in the canopy caught the creature. The silver of the horn reflected into Issei's eyes.

And suddenly, the pieces came together.

 _The horn itself is the real moth!_

The light came again, and Issei once again found himself zig-zagging. The moth was making efforts to lead him and paint the brunette himself with the light. It wasn't _hard_ to avoid, but it was obvious the moth was learning, and doing it fast. The Jack knew right then that he had to finish the fight immediately.

 _I can't risk just chucking a light spear… the horn's waving too much..._

Then, the trio of lights came again, and Issei got an idea. It was dangerous, but what about this thing wasn't?

 _It's not too fast... can't dodge too well…_

The brunette smirked despite the situation, and he changed his course, dodging the line of death that the moth fired.

That course happened to lead directly _under_ the moth itself, directly to the tree that the moth had been killing – _had_ killed. The light obediently followed.

 _That's it, come here…_

The light came. And at the last possible moment, Issei jumped clear.

All three lights blasted into the tree, their combined concussive force effectively vaporizing the bottom few feet of the trunk. But the initial impact of the very first light set a distinct course for it to topple.

The moth didn't stand a chance at dodging it. Its horn that had so boldly drained the vigor of countless trees was now forcibly impaled by its own victim, shoved bluntly through the bark by simply momentum. And when the tree fell to the ground with a thunderous crash, the silver horn had been forced directly through the bark, protruding a good three meters upwards.

Even as the horn began to glow to deal out some new magic or another, Issei's light spear was already in motion.

"Boosted Gear – Gift!"

 **"TRANSFER!"**

Once more, Issei watched his light spear grow to titanic proportions mid-flight. It cleaved the silver horn in two with ease, and as Issei' watched, the visible, golden body of the moth that was pinned beneath the tree vanished into a cloud of dust.

Landing, Issei dismissed the Boosted Gear just as the exhaustion smashed into him full force, and he spent a moment or so catching his breath.

Once he'd done that, the brunette walked over to the snapped-off piece of horn and slowly, painfully, yanked it upwards. The horn was lighter than it looked, but it still easily weighed twenty kilograms.

Issei had intended to go back to Heaven as soon as he had the horn in his arms. It was intended to be proof of his deed and what he'd accomplished. But when he heard the distinctive sound of slowly clapping hands, his heart stopped.

From behind one of the trees stepped Elizabeth Lanza. And she had a _very_ irritated look on her face.

"Congratulations on your victory, Issei. Also, you are in _so much trouble_."

* * *

 _And cut_.


	12. Perhaps a Punishment, Perhaps a Blessing

_I do not own Highschool DxD._

* * *

"Hey, Elizabeth…" Issei said, eyes darting back and forth as a shaky smile crawled onto his lips. "So, uh… I can explain –"

Without letting him get another word in, Elizabeth closed the distance between them and grabbed the front of his shirt. "Don't try buttering me up, Issei. It's not going to work." Elizabeth's voice didn't raise a single decibel, but it didn't need to; her simmering fury was obvious all the same. "We're going back to Heaven, _now_. And you and I will meet with Lord Raphael so that he may decide what to do with you."

Issei looked at the silver horn in his arms and nodded. "Can I keep this, at least?"

Elizabeth gave a dismissive shrug. "Fine. But you're coming with me right now."

"Right…"

* * *

When the two Angels appeared at the front gate of Heaven, the two guards present didn't so much as blink at the silver rod Issei was carrying, nor at the obvious anger of the Queen of Clubs. Instead, they simply followed the same procedure as ever.

"Identify yourselves."

Elizabeth's eight wings spread, the red **Q** appearing on the back of her right hand. "Elizabeth Lanza, Queen of Clubs."

Issei's own wings unfolded and he held up his own right hand. "Issei Hyoudou, Jack of Clubs."

"Welcome back to Heaven."

After, with some difficulty, Issei managed to drag himself through the gate carrying the heavy horn, Elizabeth looked at him. "Take that to your room and leave it there. Once you've finished, you will come straight to the hospital to meet with our King. I'll be explaining the entire situation to him before you arrive."

Issei gulped, not looking forward in the slightest to have to justify his actions to his King, especially when there was no justification.

Without another word, Elizabeth's form compressed into a cross once more. A moment later, the light vanished.

Issei followed suit a moment later, but he did not go where she did. Instead, he simply appeared in his bedroom, heart beginning to thump as he began to consider what he'd done and the full scale of it.

Slowly, ever so slowly and carefully, both as to not damage the horn and to delay the inevitable meeting, Issei slid it into his closet, placing it gently onto a shelf. It barely fit without scratching the wall. Just as carefully, the Jack slid the closet door shut, as though to slam it would trigger some microfracture in the silver.

He wasn't entirely sure why he was so concerned with not breaking or scratching the horn; no doubt that the horn was made from some magical material and not real silver. What would it matter if it was scratched or bent and broken?

Yet even still, he was delicate, and did not cease this gentleness until after the sliding door clicked shut.

One final, deep breath was inhaled and exhaled.

Then, he formed into a cross and vanished.

* * *

Issei stood, once more, in the corridor of the hospital that faced the twin doors to Raphael's main office. He'd been here once, of course, during his very first day in Heaven.

As his thumb pressed the button, he found himself remembering that day, and his later conversation in the Clubs building. He'd hoped that his first time back in here would be some sort of commendation for something great he'd done.

"Enter."

Raphael's voice made it very clear to Issei that the exact opposite was coming.

Slowly, Issei pushed the door open and stepped inside. His heart sank even further when he saw the expression on Raphael's face and heard his first words.

It wasn't the standard expression of rage, with bared teeth and veins barely constrained from popping from red, sweating skin. Raphael's face was calm, almost tranquil. Yet the frown his face was set in, and the uncharacteristic hardness to his tone, made his real feelings quite clear.

"Hello, Issei." He gestured to the left of his desk, where Issei could see Elizabeth standing. "Elizabeth tells me quite an interesting story. Would you like to hear it?"

Issei knew that that wasn't a question. "What is it, sir?"

"She tells me that you apparently went and dealt with one of the creatures she'd selected on your own, without awaiting her backup to ensure your safety." His fingers twined together on the desk before him. "Any explanation you'd like to give me?"

The brunette swallowed. "I did _win_ , sir –"

"That's not what I asked for, Issei," Raphael said, cutting him off. "What I asked for was an explanation for the story I was told by my Queen, not a justification. Do you have any?"

After a long moment, Issei exhaled. "No, sir."

"I thought not." Raphael's eyes shut, and he shook his head. "Issei, do you have any idea how reckless and, frankly speaking, _stupid_ that was?"

"I… I thought I could handle it, sir."

"Clearly you could, but that doesn't make what you did any less stupid."

"Sir, exorcists do this sort of thing all the time, don't they?"  
"Your average exorcist also spends several years in training prior to their first mission," Elizabeth said sharply. "You've received a modest few weeks."

"Then why send me on these hunts to begin with?" Issei demanded.

"If your parents weren't a factor, Issei," Raphael said, "I would have you put through standard exorcists' training, Angel or not. Due to the numerous unusual circumstances surrounding your reincarnation, we improvised. That's not a personal strike against you, of course, but it's the reality of the situation."

Issei clenched his teeth, reining in the urge to reply with a sharp retort. He knew it would just make things worse.

After a moment without Issei responding, Raphael continued. "If you have no counter-explanation for your actions, Issei, then I suppose we can now move to your reason for doing what you did. Why you went against orders." Raphael's eyes bored through Issei's. "And before you deny that you did not follow orders, Issei, you did. Your mission outline was to select and eliminate one of the monsters _with Elizabeth being present_. You did not fulfill the second part." He nodded. "So then, Issei, why did you not wait?"

Issei's eyes swept the floor. "…no comment, sir."

"Well, I suppose it can't have been that you wanted to defeat the monster without help, because that is exactly what would have happened either way. It's what happened with the Long Gui, from what I understand."

"Yes, sir."

"No explanation at all, then?"

"Well, I… couldn't find Elizabeth –"

"As I told you, Issei," Elizabeth said, "I had to write a report of the fight with the Devil. I was back in the meeting hall inside of an hour. If you'd waited for me, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"And even putting that to one side," Raphael said, "impatience as a reason is as bad as no excuse at all – in fact, I would argue that it's worse, as it's as insulting as it is asinine. Your 'impatience' could very easily have gotten you killed, Issei. A Sunlight Moth is not the most dangerous of creatures, no, but as you learned, it's still quite capable of being lethal. Slow as their strikes might be, being hit even once is likely to lead to serious injury. If that had happened in your fight, Elizabeth wouldn't have been able to find you and bring you back here. We can heal injuries that would leave human hospitals awestruck, but we're not Gods. Save through turning someone into an Angel, we can't resurrect the dead, as you yourself should know."

Issei nodded slowly.

"So, you accept your wrongdoing in disobeying an order and putting yourself in unnecessary danger, Issei?" Raphael asked.

Issei exhaled. "Yes, sir."

"Very well," Raphael said. "I'm not going to have you imprisoned over this, Issei, but you will not escape punishment."

"I understand, sir," Issei said.

"Here's what I want – go speak with Abigail. You'll be taking her library shift for the next four Sundays."

"Yes, sir."

"And understand something else, Issei," Elizabeth said, stepping close and clamping a hand on his shoulder. "You're getting off _quite_ lightly for this. I've expelled students from exorcist training for the sort of stunt you pulled today. Needless to say, you will not be dealing with the Cerberus."

"Indeed," Raphael said, nodding. "If you do something like this again, Issei, the punishment will be _far_ more severe. Disobeying a direct order is a very serious offense in Heaven. Angels have been cast down for it."

"I understand, sir."

Raphael nodded. "Both of you are dismissed."

With that, Issei turned and walked through the doors that led to Raphael's office, Elizabeth following a few steps behind.

It was as Issei walked down the hall that led to the reception area that he felt Elizabeth's hand on his shoulder. He spun to look at her.

"What is it?"

The anger that the Queen of Clubs had been directing towards Issei earlier was gone now, replaced only by concern and empathy. "Issei, why did you _really_ do what you did today?"

"I was impatient."

"Don't give me that, Issei," Elizabeth said, shaking her head. "I've spent quite a bit of time with you. Enough to read through things like that." The hand on his shoulder tightened. "You were trying to do something impressive, weren't you? You were just embarrassed to say it in front of Raphael."

"And if I was?"

The Queen shook her head. "Issei, if you want to impress Raphael, that's not the way to do it. He doesn't find recklessness to be admirable." A slight smile curved onto her face. "If you really want to impress him? Fight a battle in such a way so that your victory's assured before it even starts – or as close as you can. Or have tricks up your sleeve. Like I said before, don't charge in blindly."

"Got it. By the way, Elizabeth…"

"What is it?"  
"What's 'Balance Breaker'?"

Elizabeth hummed. "It's an abnormal activation of a Sacred Gear. Its highest state, essentially. It forces as much power as it possibly can out of the Sacred Gear, and its abilities often change or are amplified as a result of it."

Issei nodded, biting his lip. "Can every Sacred Gear enter Balance Breaker?"

"Theoretically," Elizabeth said. "Though that depends on the wielder." A smile came to her lips. "One guess as to where your mind's going with this."

"Guess you _can_ read me. Yeah, how do you do it?"

"I don't mean to crush your hopes, Issei, but there's no "standard" way to enter Balance Breaker. From what I understand, it's essentially a "glitch" in the Sacred Gear system. I can take you right to the precipice, but it's ultimately on you to take the final step. It's usually some strong emotion or another that allows the user to bring out the Balance Breaker, but it's no guarantee. And the path there will be _extremely_ difficult if you want to speed it up and reach Balance Breaker in any decent length of time."

"What do you mean, 'speed it up'?"

Elizabeth's other hand came and laid itself on Issei shoulder. "If you're sure that you want to focus on reaching Balance Breaker above all else, Issei, I'm willing to help you with that, and I'm sure Raphael will have no issue with it. You've finished the Bible and Ridley's explanatory lessons, correct?"

Issei nodded, and Elizabeth replied with the same gesture. "Then I can easily take over your training full-time. But realize, Issei, to force yourself to achieve Balance Breaker in such a short time will be brutal. Excruciating. Whatever adjective you'd like to use that means the same. You will have almost no spare time outside of Sundays for your punishment. There will be days you hate me and wish you'd never agreed to it."

"So a lot like the first two weeks I was here?" Issei asked.

Elizabeth shook her head. "No, Issei, worse. Much worse. Five or six hours of training every single night, and the entirety of Saturday as well. I hope your parents will be okay with that."

"They'll be headed to talk to Raphael tomorrow…" Issei said thoughtfully. "Discussing a training schedule."

"Then I'd advise you talk it over with them," Elizabeth said, nodding. "As well, we're right here, and Raphael would probably like to know about this beforehand as well."

"Makes sense," Issei said. A slight grin came to his face. "Yeah. Yeah, let's do this."

Elizabeth patted him on the shoulder, then pulled him past her to look at the door that led to his King's office once more.

"Then get to it, Issei."

After, Elizabeth vanished into a cross, leaving Issei to press the buzzer and let Raphael know he was here.

"Enter."

Much more confidently this time, Issei strode back in and positioned himself in front of Raphael's desk.

The Seraph frowned at this. "Issei, what are you doing back here? You should be speaking with Abigail right now."

"Sir, I hadn't even left the hall yet. I just wanted to ask something. Or let you know, I suppose."

"What's that, then?"

"Elizabeth and I talked, and she says she's okay with training me to achieve Balance Breaker as fast as possible. She said you'd want to factor that into the discussion you were planning to have with my parents tomorrow."

Raphael let a slight grin come onto his features. "Did she tell you how hard it will be to do that?"

"She said to use whatever adjective, yes."

"You're still sure you want to do that? I recall that she was trying to teach you fighting techniques that don't depend on your Sacred Gear."

"Yes, sir, but after thinking about it, that seems a bit… err… limiting, I guess? Not really utilizing the Sacred Gear to its fullest potential?"

"Well, the Boosted Gear, whatever its manifestation, mostly boosts the attributes of its user in some way. But if you're sure, I'll bring it up to your parents." He nodded to the door. "Now, back to what you _should_ be doing."

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

 _Whap. Whap. Whap._

After the third hard knock on the door to the room Issei had seen Abigail and Asteria go into earlier that day, the Jack of Clubs heard the shuffling of fabric.

The door clicked open, and there stood the Nine of Clubs, her short hair frizzy. She was dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans, unlike the dark church outfits she usually wore. "Hey, Issei. You need something?"

Issei scratched the back of his head. "Well, I got myself into a bit of trouble with our King, and he's ordered me to take over your library shift for the next few weeks. He wants you to show me the ropes."

"And you needed to tell me this now and not tomorrow morning?" Abigail asked, but her grinning features said it all.

"Raphael's orders. Not mine."

Abigail chuckled. "Well, Issei, be here about six in the morning." She looked back to her room, towards her wife that was still stretched out on the bed. "Hear that, honey? I get the next few Sundays off!"

"I heard it loud and clear," Asteria replied. "Thank you for screwing up, Issei – we'll bask in your misery."

"Amen to that," Abigail said, chuckling again. "Better him than me."

"You're awful," Issei said dryly.

"Oh, absolutely," Abigail responded, patting Issei on the shoulder. "Don't forget to bring a book or something, Issei. It's a lot of sitting around and waiting for things to happen. Oh, and don't forget to make lunch for yourself. You're allowed to eat at the desk and you're going to want to, trust me."

"Got it. See you tomorrow."

"See you then."

The door shut, and from there, Issei saw no other reason to be in Heaven. Not when he had other people he needed to prepare.

* * *

"You did _what_?" Issei's mother said, her face looking both confused and concerned.

"I went and killed a giant turtle and a moth made from magic."

The Hyoudou parents had congregated in the living room by their son's request, and now had their eyes going wide as they heard of their son's adventure in dealing with two monsters.

"And what's this got to do with you being required to be in Heaven all of Sunday?" Issei's father asked.

"I kind of… wasn't supposed to go after the second one. Not alone, anyway. I got slapped with Heaven's library shift as punishment." He put his hands up. "It's nothing dangerous. It's really, really boring, though, according to the girl whose shift I'm taking over for a few weeks."

"No getting out of it?" his mother asked.

"Nope. I screwed up and I'm being punished. That's how it is."

The parents nodded. "So what's the second thing you wanted to tell us?" Issei's father inquired.

"Well… if you'd be all right with it, I'd like to spend most of the rest of my spare time in Heaven, too. My afternoons and Saturday, as well."

"What for?"

"Training, basically. I'm trying to get stronger."

Issei's parents looked at each other for several long seconds, then back to Issei.

"That's fine," Issei's mother said.

The brunette blinked. "That's it? No questions? Comments? Concerns? Qualifiers?"

Both mother and father shook their heads. "Issei," his father said, "we've met Raphael, and we trust him and his Saints to not kill you in training. And besides that, you're seventeen. Nearly an adult. You want to train yourself? Get stronger? If that's really what you want, we say _go for it_."

"Uh… thanks, I guess. Didn't expect it to be _that_ easy."

"Not a problem," Issei's mother said. "You'll probably be better off training than hanging around here anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Your two friends came by earlier. Dumped a giant pile of porn on the front porch and ran away."

Issei sighed. "We have any matches? Raphael's coming back tomorrow. I don't want to know how badly he'll be traumatized if he sees those."

"Don't worry, Issei, we already got rid of them," his father reassured him. "They're in the trash."

"Good," Issei said. "That's a relief." He put his hands on his knees and stood up. "Well, any dinner plans?"

"Nothing in particular," Issei's mother said. "Why, going back to Heaven?"

"No," Issei said. "Just something else I've been thinking about that I haven't had time to work on." His head rocked slightly. "Well, I take that back. It's more like "I couldn't come up with anything", but today fixed that, luckily. I hope."

"What is it?" his father asked.

"You know how Angels can manipulate light?" Issei asked. "It's something involving that. I'll probably work on it at the library tomorrow, too. No idea when it'll be finished, though."

"So what you're saying is "don't bug you", basically?"

"I'd appreciate if you didn't."

"No problem."

"Thanks again."

With that, Issei walked out of the living room and plodded up the stairs. Opening the door to his bedroom, he promptly flopped down on his bed as he finally got a few minutes of silence.

Once those minutes passed, he picked himself off the bed and walked back to his door. After closing it, he sat down at his desk. On it, _The Reincarnated Angel's Guide to the Basics of Light Magic and Transcription_ sat, screaming to be opened and for Issei to take in what was on its pages.

Eagerly, Issei obeyed.

* * *

Issei awoke at five o'clock the next morning, far earlier than he'd ever want to on a Sunday. Dragging himself through the morning routine come three hours too early, he ate a heavy breakfast and packed himself a decent-sized lunch, as per Abigail's instructions.

By five-thirty, he stood in Heaven, changing out of his pajamas and into the formal vestment he thought he should wear.

By five-fifty, he was in the library, receiving some instructions from Abigail in how to use the computer system after relieving the Angel on duty fifteen minutes early. On the desk was the book Issei was working out of and chomping at the bit to get back to, along with ten pages of paper and a few pencils.

By six in the morning, Issei was alone, awaiting anyone who might want to check books out, check them back in or who might require aid in finding them.

And to fill the time until he was released from the shift at seven o'clock in the evening, Issei absorbed himself with continuing to study and slowly, painstakingly slowly, transcribe his creation.

As the hours slowly wore on, Issei heard the doors begin opening more and more frequently as Angels filed in. The library was technically open all night, as he well knew, but most Angels preferred to come during the day.

Yet the vast majority didn't bother to stop at his desk, which suited Issei just fine. The work of light transcription was enough of a headache; the lack of communication was appreciated.

It was just before eleven that Issei's silent vigil was broken by an Angel. A black-haired young man, one a few years older than Issei but still having clear youth in his face, sauntered up with a book in his hand.

"Checking out or in?" Issei asked, repeating what Abigail had told him.

"In," the man said, passing the book over the counter to Issei.

As the brunette went through the steps of checking the book back to the library, the Angel half-grinned at him. "So Abigail isn't here, huh?"

"Nope," Issei replied. "I got put on her shift for the next few weeks."

"Volunteer?" the Angel across the counter asked.

Issei shook his head. "I was… _volunteered_ , let's say."

The man's grin got wider. "You screwed up, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Issei said, chuckling. "Lord Raphael threw me onto this as punishment."

"Oh! You must be Issei! The Boosted Gear's wielder, right?" the man said, reaching his hand across the counter. "Ezekiel Holloway, Lord Michael's Ten. Call me Zeke."

"Good to meet you, Zeke," Issei said, taking the man's offered hand.

"So what'd you do to land you up here, exactly?" the Ten asked.

"Well, I sort of ran off and dealt with a Sunlight Moth when I was told to wait behind for Elizabeth."

Zeke nodded appreciatively. "Yeah, that'll do it. Did you kill it, though?"

"Yeah, sliced its horn clean off. One shot. Lucky me I had the Boosted Gear – transferred a ton of power to the spear and it went through pretty easily."

"You know that a normal-sized light sword would've worked just as well, right?" Zeke asked, that same grin coming back to his face. "One cleave. Bam, it's dead. A giant spear's major overkill."

Issei blinked. "You're not kidding, are you?"

"Nope."

"Well, I wish I'd known _that_ before I spent a bunch of my life running around a forest trying to dodge and get a perfect hit in."

"Eh, there's always next time. If you get the chance, I mean." Zeke suddenly turned to go. "Well, I've got to get back to the lab before Lord Uriel wonders where I went."

"You work there?" Issei asked.

"Yep. Research assistant position's not worth working with a Seraph for, trust me. Long hours and barely ever a Sunday off."

"That sucks. Well, don't work too hard," Issei said.

"Don't worry, never have."

Then, his brief visitor was gone, and Issei was left to bang his head against light transcription magic for quite a few more hours, blissfully unaware of the meeting that was about to take place in his home.

* * *

Raphael knocked on the Hyoudou's front door with the grace and courtesy of a man befitting his station. He waited several seconds with a calm demeanor, all the while wondering how the Hyoudou household's two older residents would react to Issei's plan.

When the door opened, he was greeted by the sight of Issei's father.

"Ah, Raphael! There you are!" The door opened wider. "Come in, come in!"

"Good to see you again, Mr. Hyoudou," Raphael said. "Thank you for inviting me in. I did, however, bring a few others with me who I thought ought to meet you as well. You don't mind if they come in, do you?"

"Oh, not at all! Not at all!" Issei's father asked as he poked his head out to the others standing on the porch. "Come in, come in! I insist!"

* * *

 _And cut_.

 _Yes, Issei's conversation with Zeke will become relevant later. As well, don't be waiting with bated breath throughout every single chapter to see Issei's creation. It's going to be quite a while before anything comes of that thread._

 _As well, I don't intend to focus too much on the specifics of training. Just keep in mind that it's happening in the background. I know this chapter didn't have much action, but we'll get back to that within another couple of chapters once canon starts to complain about being left out._


	13. Here She Is Again

_I do not own Highschool DxD_.

* * *

As the group of five filed into Issei's home behind Raphael, Issei's mother stepped out of the kitchen to greet the one who lead them.

"Hello again, Raphael!" she said cheerily, before taking notice of those trailing him. "And I see you've brought some company with you!"

"Indeed I have," the Seraph said, sweeping his arm back towards those behind him. "These are the other Saints of my deck. My Ace, Queen, Ten, Nine and Eight."

"Ah, I see!" Issei's mother said. She gave an appreciative nod towards the group. "Issei's told my husband and I about all of you!"

"I'd certainly hope so," one of the group, a woman, said. She stepped forward, her hand extending. "Elizabeth Lanza, Lord Raphael's Queen. I take it you're Issei's mother?"

"Great to meet you!" Issei's mother said as she took Elizabeth's hand. A mischievous grin crossed her face. "Issei had a lot to say about _you_ in particular."

"All good, I hope," Elizabeth said.

"All bad, more likely," said the silver-haired girl of the group.

Issei's father laughed. "A bit of both, really!"

As Issei's mother went around and Raphael's deck made their introductions, the King himself chuckled. "I suppose I should've expected Issei would tell you about the rest of my Saints," he said, speaking to Issei's father.

"He told us a whole bunch of horror stories," the Hyoudou patriarch said. "Something about being trained incessantly for twelve hours a day?"

A grin cracked Raphael's face. "Only twelve? I was under the impression it was more like fourteen." His head swung back to his Saints. "I expected better from you all! You could have mentally and physically brutalized our prisoner more thoroughly! Shameful!"

"We're sorry, sir," came Ridley's reply. "We only wanted to toy with him and sink him into despair."

"I'll be sure to break him thoroughly during my one-on-ones with him," Elizabeth added. "Physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually."

"Most excellent, my Queen," Raphael said, forcing his voice down an octave and spreading his arms out. "I have no doubt that you shall succeed in this task. Crush the boy's spirit and will to live until he is no more than a shell to use for our purposes! GLORY TO HEAVEN!"

"Glory to Heaven!" called all but one of Raphael's Saints.

The sole remaining Saint, meanwhile, had buried his face in his hand.

"Are they always like this?" Issei's mother asked.

"Sadly, yes," Diethelm replied, his voice making it clear he'd welcome spontaneous combustion right about now.

After Raphael had taken a deep breath, he brushed his vestment off and turned back to Issei's father. "My apologies, Mr. Hyoudou. Sometimes I just need an excuse to let off a bit of stress." It was obvious to everyone present that Raphael didn't regret any of it.

Issei's father just shrugged. "Whatever works for you," he said as a smirk crossed his face and he slid his arm around his spouse. "I suppose getting a wife to help you with that is out of the question." A lecherous wink was exchanged between the couple, and Issei's mother drummed her fingers on her husband's chest.

Raphael almost visibly recoiled, and the grin on the Seraph's face vanished. Clearing his throat, he nodded.

"Now that we've gotten through all of _that_ … we ought to get to the business of establishing that schedule I originally came to discuss."

The Hyoudou elders nodded, and Raphael continued. "Issei and Elizabeth discussed something of great importance to that schedule. According to him, he wishes to –"

"Train basically full-time?" Issei's mother asked, cutting Raphael off. "Spend every spare second he has on that?"

"He's already explained this to you both, then?"

"Yes, and we have no problem with it. He's old enough to make this judgement call himself, we think."

Raphael gave an appreciative nod. "I see. Well, that makes this process significantly easier, since Issei already removed the first hurdle. All we need now is to determine the time." He turned to his Queen. "Elizabeth?"

"Raphael's already informed me of Issei's schedule," Elizabeth said. "I understand that he's not part of any after-school activities?"

"No, he isn't," Issei's father confirmed.

"That simplifies things even further. I've trained others on this track before, and those who are both full-time students and aspiring warriors usually operate by a schedule of six hours per night."

"Sounds hard," Issei's father noted.

"Exceedingly so," Elizabeth said. "But with what he's intending to achieve in a short span of time, it's also necessary. We'll also be taking up his entire Saturday."

"Like we said, his choice," Issei's mother said, her head bobbing in affirmation.

"Well, I'd say that that more or less wraps things up," Raphael said. "My apologies for keeping this brief, but I can never be gone from Heaven for too long before the paperwork starts piling up."

"I'd stay for lunch if I could," Abigail said, "but I've got something I have to take care of later…" Her eyes flashed to Asteria, who grabbed her shoulder with a teasing grin on her face.

"How about tomorrow, then?" Issei's mother asked. "I'd be glad to have you in!"

Abigail blinked at the unexpected request. "Oh… umm… certainly! Thank you!"

"I'll see you tomorrow, then!" Issei's mother said. "Would noon be okay with you?"

"Sure! I'll see you then!" Asteria said, before shooting a mocking smirk at Asteria.

As Abigail well knew, Asteria had to run the hospital reception shift on Mondays.

"Oh, by the way, Raphael," Issei's father said, "there's something I need to show you in the living room."

"Hmm?" the Seraph asked. "What is it?"

"Just come see. It should be of… _interest_ to you."

"Very well." The King of Clubs turned back to his Saints. "The rest of you ought to depart. No need to crowd their house."

"It's no trouble, don't worry!" Issei's mother said. "In fact, I've got a few interesting things to share about Issei!"

"Oh, I _need_ to hear this," Ridley said, chuckling.

Raphael and Issei's father, meanwhile, had stepped out of the room.

About twenty seconds later, a bloodcurdling shriek ripped through the Hyoudou house, and every single Saint bolted towards the source of the noise in alarm.

When they arrived in the living room, they found Raphael seated on the floor, arms around his knees and rocking back and forth as he begged Issei's father to keep "it" away from him.

After the Saints noticed what "it" was, they looked at one another for a few seconds before Ridley broke the silence, a cruel grin coming onto his face.

"All in favor of tormenting Lord Raphael with more pornography, raise your hand."

All but Diethelm did so.

* * *

Frankly put, Issei couldn't see what Abigail was complaining about.

With the distraction of his light magic transcription work, the shift raced by. The Jack helped a few Angels who needed it, of course, but most of his time was spent on the technique he was developing. That wasn't to say he got very far – he barely had a quarter of a page by the time seven o'clock in the evening rolled around and the next Angel came to relieve him. But he'd learned quite a lot, and that made the effort more than worth it.

As he departed Heaven, he began wondering if he ought to just take over Abigail's shift completely. He appreciated the quiet time to work on his project, and Abigail no doubt enjoyed not being behind the desk. He could only speculate on _what_ she'd spent today doing.

Upon returning home, Issei went to his parents to ask if Raphael had indeed visited and immediately realized something was wrong.

This was made evidently clear to him by the mischievous smiles both of his parents wore.

"Okay, what did you do?"

"Why, _whatever_ do you mean, Issei?" his mother asked, feigning a pained look. "That you would even _insinuate_ that we are anything other than absolutely, purely out for your betterment! The _nerve_!"

It took only seconds for Issei to remember what Matsuda and Motohama had apparently done and combine it with the knowledge that his King had visited.

"You traumatized Lord Raphael again, didn't you?" Issei asked, tone utterly deadpan.

"You should've _seen_ how he reacted!" Issei's father said, barely able to keep back the laughter long enough to speak. "Curled up in the fetal position like a little kid!"

"And your fellow Saints got to see it, too!" Issei's mother added.

"If that's true, mind explaining how you're still alive?"

"Given that they seemed to find it even funnier than we did," Issei's father said, "probably from the grace of friendship!"

Issei's eye twitched. "So besides ensuring that Lord Raphael will find a way to torment me the second he gets the chance, how was the rest of your day?"

"Well," Issei's mother said, tapping her chin, "the other Saints of your deck stayed long enough for some tea and a bit of chatter. They seem to like you." The grin became lecherous. "Elizabeth in particular…" she said in a singsong tone.

"She's also thirteen years older than me," Issei pointed out.

"Given what Elizabeth told us, I doubt that's an obstacle."

"What'd she tell you?"

"Oh, not much," Issei's father said, a teasing look on his face. "Just that you apparently fell head over heels for one of Heaven's leaders at first sight. One "Lady Gabriel", was it?"

"I-I have no idea what she's talking about," Issei stammered, eyes darting from side to side. "Moving on. Discuss anything else? The color of the paint on the walls? Filing taxes? _Literally anything else?_ "

"Oh, look at how he's blushing," Issei's mother said, speaking to her husband. "I'd say Elizabeth was right on the mark, wouldn't you, honey?"

"Sure looks that way," Issei's father replied, chuckling. "I suppose we ought to mention what we told the other Saints about."

"Which was?" Issei asked, dreading the answer.

"You, mostly. And what you spent the last eight or so years of your life doing."

Issei buried his face in his hands. "I hate you both so much right now."

"Angels aren't allowed to hate, though," Issei's mother said, grinning from ear to ear. "It's a sin."

"And we all fall short of God's grace and glory," Issei countered, standing up, face still in his hands. "Think I'll turn in early."

"Well then, Issei, good night!" his father said, still laughing at his son's squirming.

* * *

The next morning, Issei's routine was somewhat back to normal. For the first time in a fortnight, there was nothing potentially lethal on the schedule. Sure, there was that sure-to-be-brutal training with Elizabeth coming up, but he had no doubt that the Queen wouldn't actively try to murder him during it. And even then, there were top-notch medical facilities right in Heaven, so his survival was practically assured.

All the same, he still had to get through a normal school day before that happened, and today, the morning seemed to drag on and on. After the excitement of Saturday and the hyper-focus of Saturday, suddenly being forced to come back to a basic, normal morning left Issei feeling as though he was wading through thick mental soup.

As he stepped out to walk to school, he wished his parents a good day.

His next move would have been, naturally, to start thinking over the intricacies of light magic transcription. Of the exact details of the thing he was trying to construct and the frustrations therein. Figuring out the exact ways to transcribe it from his own, limited knowledge and tools. And indeed, his mind did start to wander down this path. He hadn't gone very far, however, before it was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Issei?"

Instantly, Issei snapped back to reality and turned to look at the person who'd spoken.

"Asia? What are you doing here?"

For indeed, seated on a bench on the side of the street was the blonde nun he'd met days earlier, dressed in the same veil and habit she'd been wearing when they'd first met.

Standing, she gave a small, sad smile. "I… well, the people I was staying with… they said I'd be leaving today… but that it was okay for me to come spend some time with you, you know? They said you walked by here a lot of the time…"

Issei almost said no. He almost said that he had to go to school, and that while he wished her well, he couldn't break that obligation.

Almost.

As Issei looked into Asia's sad eyes, he found himself looking down at the bag in his hands and recalling what he'd done on Saturday. Then, his gaze turned and looked back the way he came up the street, before returning to the nun with a smile.

"Yeah, sure. Why not? Just give me a bit of time to hide my bag."

"O-okay…"

* * *

"So, where do you want to go?" Issei asked as they strolled down the street in the opposite direction of his school.

"I… don't know…" Asia said hesitantly. "I didn't think I'd get this far, really. Didn't you have school?"

"Yeah, but what's one day?" Issei asked.

Asia gave a weak smile.

Issei's brow furrowed, before he settled on the obvious choice. "How about the mall?"

"Sounds interesting," Asia said, a tiny flicker of happiness in her tone.

* * *

Taking Asia to the mall turned out to be quite the experience.

As it turned out, the nun was utterly perplexed as to how to eat a hamburger. When Issei had gently explained that utensils were unnecessary and that one used their hands to pick it up, she appeared completely thunderstruck. Yet once she began chewing at it, she quickly picked up the pace and scarfed the entire burger down in under two minutes.

"Guess you liked it?" Issei jokingly asked.

Asia blushed. "I've seen food like this on television, but I'd never imagined it tasted so good…"

"You've never eaten fast food?"

"No," the nun said, shaking her head. "Mostly it's been pastas, vegetables and soups… some bread here and there… definitely nothing like what we just had."

Issei blinked. "Interesting…" Then, he leaned down and took a huge bite of his own burger.

When he looked up again, he saw that Asia's focus had landed somewhere else. Somewhere behind him. The brunette's eyes turned to follow her gaze, and he smiled.

"Hey, Asia, you ever play video games?"

The blonde nun shook her head.

Issei wolfed down the last few bites of his food and stood up.

"Let's rectify that, shall we?"

* * *

As it turned out, Asia had a bit of a knack for electronic entertainment, and very quickly got the hang of the racing game the two played. And when she'd proved hopeless with a claw machine that had a plushie she desperately wanted, Issei was only too happy to dump the money to pluck it out, even with it taking four attempts.

After they'd burned themselves out on the arcade, they wandered about other parts of the mall, hours steadily wandering by.

Near the end of Issei's school day saw Issei and Asia seated on a park bench, enjoying their last few minutes together.

It was as Issei licked at what remained of a strip of cotton candy that a very odd question came out of Asia.

"Issei… are we friends?"

Issei turned to look at Asia, more than a bit confused by the suddenness of the inquiry.

"Err… yeah? There some reason we shouldn't be?"

At that, Asia's lip began to quiver and her eyes moistened. "I-Issei," she whispered, "…I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"…for lying to you…"

One of the brunette's eyebrows arched. "What are you talking about?"

Asia seemed to be fighting back tears at this point. "I'm… I'm not actually part of… of the church… not anymore…"

Issei shrugged. "I don't recall you ever saying you were."

She shook her head, trembling. "It's still a lie… I wasn't open about it…"

"So you left the church? So what?"

"I didn't just leave, Issei," she said, choking back tears. "I… I was _exiled_. They called me a witch…" She buried her face in her hands. "I know… you hate me now, right?"

As Issei looked at the blonde nun, he felt a sudden, overwhelming urge wash over him, one he had neither the will nor the desire to resist.

He threw his arms around her, pulling her close. Asia let out a squeak.

"Don't care, Asia. We're still friends, church member or not."

At that, Asia seemingly lost the will to resist her emotions, and he could feel her begin to weep, to shake against him. His uniform absorbed the tears, and he was only too happy to hug her until she felt ready to pull back.

When she did, her eyes were red, but her face was set in a genuine, happy smile.

"Y-You don't know how much that means, Issei… I-I never had any real friends in the church…"

"Well, you've got one now," the Jack immediately replied. "I know you said you're leaving soon, but if you're ever back… well, don't hesitate to come by. I'll be here."

The smile widened, and for a moment Asia pulled close again.

Once she'd gotten her fill of his shirt, he nodded. "I hate to cut things off here, Asia, but my school day's over, and my parents will probably be wondering where I am."

"Okay," Asia said, nodding. Her puffy eyes were filled with a happiness he hadn't seen before. "Thanks, Issei… today was wonderful."

"Don't mention it."

With that, Issei stood from the bench and walked towards a trash can to dispose of his cotton candy.

"Sweet enough to make me _puke_ , I'll give you that."

When those words passed through Issei's brain, he momentarily froze where he stood.

Once that precious instant had passed, he slowly, agonizingly slowly, turned back around.

" _You,_ " he hissed.

"Yes, _me_ ," Yuuma said mockingly.

She sat where Issei had been only moments before, arm slid around Asia's shoulders with her chin resting on the nun's clavicle.

"R-Raynare… please, don't hurt him," the nun whispered, obviously terrified out of her mind.

 _Raynare's her real name, huh?_

"Get away from her," Issei snarled. " _Now!_ "

"Or you'll do _what_ , exactly?" Raynare inquired. "Do you think a little two-winged Angel can scare _me_?"

"A-Angel?" Asia stammered, rapidly looking between Issei and Raynare.

The latter of the two turned to look at the nun with a condescending smile. "Oh, did he not tell you? He's a reincarnated Angel. Purer than driven snow. Sickening, really."

Asia gaped at Issei, her situation momentarily forgotten. "I-Is that true, Issei?"

The brunette slowly let out a breath, then silently nodded.

Asia was left struck silent, leaving Raynare to fill the gaps in.

"I don't know how you got Heaven's attention or got them to reincarnate you as an Angel before you died, and if I'm being honest? I don't care. Stay out of our way and you'll be _fine_ , don't you see?" Slowly, her fingers began to stroke Asia's golden hair. "I just want to end this little nun's troubles, surely you've got no issue with that? End them _permanently_. Not that I get why you care about an exile, but whatever, you do you." The smile became a crude leer. "Everyone has their own fetish, I guess."

"Get away from her," Issei demanded again. He stepped forward, a light spear forming in his hand to back up his threat.

He was stopped, however, when Raynare responded with a spear of her own. Not because she'd thrown it, no; that would have been a cue to fight back. It was precisely that she held it that Issei was stopped cold.

The spear in her hand did not point at Issei. Instead, it pointed at Asia.

"Come near me with that and the nun pays with her life."

Keeping the spear pointed at Asia's throat, Raynare spread her wings. "Now then, Asia, let's get back to the church and begin the ritual. Dohnaseek was stupid, letting you wander off like that, but I'll deal with him later. Once your affairs are in order."

With Issei helpless to stop his former girlfriend, she took off, flying across town towards the church.

As he watched them go, Issei knew that unless he did something, and _fast_ , he'd never see Asia alive again. Yet there was the hated emotion, that _doubt_ that loomed large.

Sure, he cared for Asia, but would anyone else? Would anyone else in Heaven, his only sure allies, be willing to expend the effort and resources to help him? Would they ban him from intervening? Certainly unlikely, perhaps, but not impossible.

 _If only I didn't need the help… probably not strong enough to take down two Fallen Angels simultaneously…_

 **"Strength, huh?"**

The deep, booming voice came from nowhere as he saw Raynare's figure shrink to nothingness. His head whipping about, he saw no one who could have spoken.

 **"Down here. Look at your left hand."**

Issei did, and as he did so, his eyes widened. The back of his palm was now pulsing in a bright green.

"You're Ddraig, aren't you? The Red Dragon Emperor?"

 **"The one and only."**

"What do you want? I don't have time for this!"

" **Straight to business, is it? All right then, kid. Let's talk power."**

* * *

 _And cut_.


	14. A Bull in a Christian Shop

_I do not own Highschool DxD_.

* * *

Issei tore across town at a speed that would have made Elizabeth quite proud, and only a few shreds of restraint kept him from breaking his wings out and flying. He knew that as desperate as he might be, he couldn't risk being seen the way Raynare had.

Streaking towards the church, he looked down at his right arm, at the crimson scales that now extended all the way up to his shoulder. Ddraig had told him what he'd require from Issei, and he'd paid the cost without hesitation.

As he climbed the hill the church was set on, he could only hope what Ddraig promised would be enough.

 **"Have a little more faith, partner,"** the dragon suddenly piped up as Issei approached the door. **"That Fallen Angel isn't that strong.** "

Issei wasn't listening to the reassurance as he approached the door, however. His mind was entirely preoccupied with an unexpected problem.

Threaded through the doors was a thick, heavy steel chain, no doubt padlocked on the other side.

The brunette's first instinct, of course, was to simply hurl light spears at the door until he'd made a hole large enough in the wood to break through. But he shot that idea down almost as soon as he'd had it.

 _I don't know where Asia is in there, and throwing that many spears would just alert them anyway…_ _but I can't spend the strength boost now… Ddraig said I only had until the count of ten once it was activated and it couldn't be switched off…_

Assaulting the windows would be no good, either. They presented the same problem, boarded over as they were.

Issei bit his lip. Unfortunately for him, the Boosted Gear's power couldn't be used, not without setting off the state Ddraig had offered to him.

 _If I'd known this would be here, I'd have waited…_

 **"You're missing something, partner."**

"What's that?"

 **"Look at your arm. The one you gave to me."**

Issei looked down at his now-scaled right arm. "What about it?"

 **"That arm is now built of** _ **my**_ **flesh and bone, partner, not yours. It's vastly stronger in every respect than the human equivalent. A steel chain should be within your reach, even without replacing your chest muscles. You need only break one link."**

"You're sure?"

 **"Positive. What do you have to lose?"**

Issei nodded. "Ddraig, when I summon the Boosted Gear, _don't do anything_. I'm not trying to use its abilities, just protect my hand while I pull on the chain. Until I give you the word directly, don't use that huge strength burst."

 **"Understood, partner."**

The gauntlet formed over Issei's hand. As he'd asked, nothing happened. With a nod to himself, Issei grabbed the chain, put his foot against the door, and pulled with all his strength.

For a fraction of a moment, Issei was sure that Ddraig had been wrong. The chain was holding its integrity, even with an immensely stronger arm pulling on it and whatever feeble strength Issei's form lent it.

Then, a slight _clink_ was heard, and Issei was sent tumbling backwards as the chain snapped.

Plucking himself off the dirt, Issei let out a relieved sigh at the sight of the broken chain, and in two swift motions, fed the chains back through the holes. He could hear the loud _crash_ of the remainder of the chain fell to the floor behind the massive wooden door.

A half second later, his foot slammed into it. The old bones of the church shook and groaned in protest as the door was forced wide open.

Issei hadn't made it five steps into the church before he stopped, head whipping back and forth.

That was because there was no sign of Raynare or Asia _anywhere_. Instead, it appeared to just be an old, disused church. But as Issei looked around, he nodded to himself.

 _This was a Fallen Angel base, all right…_

All of the Christian iconography had been destroyed – sculptures smashed, pictures defaced. Anything that glorified the Christian God or his teachings had been destroyed. Another of Ridley's lessons went through Issei's mind.

 _"Fallen Angels, for whatever reason, often use churches as bases. But, I suppose in a gesture of meaningless spite, tend to systematically destroy everything remotely holy in it in the process."_

Issei's teeth ground. "Where'd they go?" he muttered, mostly to himself.

"Oh, you looking for the boss?"

Issei's head leapt up at the crazed voice. He hadn't expected a reply, but he knew from both the words and the tone that its speaker was a threat.

Said speaker was further back in the church, evidently having been hiding behind the pulpit until Issei had spoken. He was white-haired, dressed in a priest's clothes.

"Where is she?" Issei demanded.

"Don't see any reason to tell you that when you're gonna be dead in a few seconds! You won't even get downstairs!" the speaker said, cackling insanely. "Freed Sellzen's the name! Remember that when I'm cutting you apart, ya shitty Angel!"

In his hand, he held a sword, one seemingly constructed from pure light. In the other, a pistol.

Another of Ridley's lessons came back to Issei.

" _Your average exorcist tends to carry a mass-produced Holy Sword and a gun._ "

But it was obvious that this person wasn't affiliated with any current church. No church would've tolerated the language or crazed demeanor of the man now aiming his pistol at him.

Issei dove into the rows of pews just as the excommunicated exorcist fired his gun. Issei could hear bullets, no doubt made of pure light, whizz by over his head.

"Can't run forever, fucker!" the exorcist screamed. Issei could hear his thumping footsteps on the wooden floor as the priest ran towards him.

Making a snap decision, Issei slid his right arm beneath the pew and lifted; sure enough, it was as though it was made of foam. Jumping up, Issei tossed it at the stray priest who was now only a couple of meters away from him.

The entire church echoed with the massive crash as the pew hit the floor and shattered. Issei knew the moment he threw it that it wasn't going to hit, however.

The priest had seen it coming and managed to dive beneath it.

"Gonna give me fucking _splinters_ at this rate!" the priest snapped. Then he was forced to twist to the side as one of Issei's light spears came flying towards him. The spear kept flying and destroyed one of the windows, sending the tinkling sound of broken glass throughout the musty church.

"Oh, how cute!" Freed howled, laughing as he dodged two more spears. "An Angel busting up a church!"

Issei didn't waste his breath shooting back at the barb. It was obvious at this point that light spears weren't going to work, and he cursed himself for not having mastered midair manipulation of light-based weapons. He'd only gotten through forcing weapons up from the ground.

 _Guess we'll have to do this straight-on…_

The Jack of Clubs jumped out from behind the pews then, throwing a few more spears as he ran towards Freed to keep the exorcist off-balance. Yet even as he closed the distance, Freed saw what he was doing and leapt into the air, landing on the top end of one of the pews. Using it as a springboard, he jumped again, leaving him to land daintily back behind the pulpit and far outside of Issei's range.

Even as he closed the distance, Issei could see Freed raise his gun once more, and this time, he wasn't able to dodge.

Searing pain shot through his shoulder as the bullet of light pierced it, but Issei grit his teeth and kept moving forwards. No doubt the adrenaline pumping through his veins helped, but Issei would later suspect it had more to do with the fact that it didn't go more than a centimeter into his flesh.

Angels _did_ have quite a bit of resistance to light and holy elements, after all.

Biting back a curse, Issei jumped onto the stage where the pulpit was, banging into it on the way as he tossed a light spear to either of Freed's sides to keep him from darting away.

The bloodlust-blinded exorcist seemed to gain a moment of clarity then, evidently realizing that he'd backed himself into a corner. His face twisted as Issei closed the last few steps, and he swung his light sword, seemingly in a panic.

The brunette, however, had seen that coming, and his light blade stopped when it hit Issei's draconic arm.

And he belted out another curse when the rod of light was crushed in Issei's fist.

Yet another one came out when the same fist crashed against his right cheek, and he went tumbling to the floor.

Issei heaved a light spear at the exorcist on the ground, but even with his cheek completely smashed in, Freed still squirmed out of the way and leaped to his feet.

The brunette was momentarily distracted as he noticed what Freed was holding between his fingers.

It was a black sphere a few centimeters wide, but Issei didn't get any further into examining it before Freed started ranting again.

"Fuck this, that bitch didn't even put out!"

He threw the sphere at the ground, and instantly, a bright flash of light blinded the brunette. In a panic, Issei began throwing spears every which way, expecting any second to feel a shot slam into his skull.

The pain didn't come, however, and as his vision cleared, he could see why.

Freed was gone, his destroyed sword and gun left on the ground. Issei could see the discarded clip on the floor, and after a few seconds' examination, he blinked at what it revealed.

 _He was out of ammunition…_

Issei was still worried sick, of course, and not just about Asia. A person as crazed as Freed would surely find trouble and might well hurt someone else. The brunette shook his head, however, and took his focus back to the former.

And as his eyesight swung, he would have sworn he'd spotted a miracle.

When he'd banged against the pulpit, he'd shifted it ever so slightly. He hadn't noticed the gap in the floor it had revealed during his duel with Freed.

Now, he put his hands against it and shoved with all his might. As expected, the pulpit was knocked aside fairly easily.

Beneath it, a staircase lead downwards, into a dark space. From it, Issei could hear voices, none of them familiar. He swallowed.

"Ddraig?"

 **"Yes, partner?"**

"Do it."

* * *

Raynare had had to fight the girl quite a bit harder than she'd expected. Asia Argento had begun to writhe and scream as Raynare had dragged her back through the church, and Freed had seemingly found this hilarious, to the point he'd refused to help her with the chain or the pulpit. She'd had to run back out and grab Asia twice while doing that, and then had to chase her all around the church after pulling the pulpit back.

To make matters worse, there was no sign of her Fallen Angel cohorts. She supposed Dohnaseek might have taken them out for a day on the town. Incompetents, every one of them.

At least the small pack of rogues who she'd recruited to help her with her goal knew their place. They were no-names, certainly nowhere near Freed's level of combat prowess, but they were decent enough, and more to the point, _obedient_. They'd helped her chain the girl in place, and Raynare knew she was only fifteen minutes from completing her objective.

Yet she hadn't been more than ten seconds into the ritual before she began to hear, however faintly, the sounds of a scuffle. Banging and crashing coming from up above.

Then, not long after, the sound of the pulpit being pulled back and the sound of something being shouted repeatedly.

"One of you," she called to the pack of exorcists, "get up there and finish the kid. He's probably wounded anyway."

"Yes, miss," the sub-leader of the rogues replied before turning to one of his subordinates. "Carlos, get up there."

Another one of the exorcists nodded, and dutifully began trudging up the stairs.

A moment later, he came flying back down and was pinned to the floor by the massive crimson spear that had been slammed through his chest.

The exorcists gasped and raised their weapons as the sound of footsteps was heard.

A few heartbeats later, Raynare watched in horror as Issei Hyoudou came striding down the stairs, seemingly no worse for wear. A thick veil of crimson energy surrounded him, one Raynare didn't know the purpose of, but it was easy enough to see his enraged face behind it.

In a snap decision, Raynare reached up, unchained Asia from the cross to which she'd been restrained for the ritual and pinned her close with a light spear pointed at her throat.

Just as she turned, flashes of red light blasted across her eyes. Thunderous blasts echoed through her ears half a moment later, and the whole church shook.

Somehow, some way, Issei Hyoudou had summoned numerous titanic spears of light, each and every one of them longer than a car. All of them were now stuck in the walls, each of the rogues impaled individually.

In less than a second, the brunette who she'd once murdered had cleared away her second-to-last line of defense. And Raynare was very aware that the girl in her arms was the only reason she was still alive.

The veil had thinned considerably now, and it was far easier to make out Issei's face. It hadn't changed expression as he stepped forwards.

"Let her go," Issei said, his voice calm yet laced with barely-restrained fury. "Do it and I won't kill you."

"Like hell I believe that," Raynare said, her voice shaky and her hand barely able to hold the spear. "How about you just walk out of here, huh?"

"If I leave, you'll kill her. If I don't, you'll do the same thing. What difference does it make?" Issei's voice was cold.

Asia began openly bawling, but a harsh snarl from Raynare kept her from talking.

"Maybe I don't want to kill her, huh? Did you think of that?" Raynare snapped.

"You think _I_ believe _that_?"

It was as she said this that she realized that he wasn't looking at her. He seemed to be looking _past_ her. Trauma? Fear? Was he just so blind with anger that he wasn't seeing clearly?

As Issei took another step, Raynare jabbed the spear backwards towards Asia, holding it only a few centimeters from her neck.

"Don't you come any closer," Raynare said, trying and failing to sound dangerous.

Issei smirked and raised his hand up, finger and thumb pressed together. "Don't need to." His finger snapped.

Raynare felt her entire body go numb. The spear vanished, and the girl took full advantage of the Fallen Angel's slackened grip, bolting out of her arms and towards Issei.

Raynare didn't bother trying to stop her. Instead, her gaze went downwards, to the spear of light that had just skewered her from beneath. It was no thicker than a small soda can, but it had rammed straight upwards through her body, stopping just beneath her neck.

Her gaze, trembling as it was, looked up just in time to see another colossal crimson spear skewer her through the chest, sending her flying back and pinning her to the cross she'd used to restrain the nun.

As disbelief went through her mind at the realization she was about to die, her eyes shut against the pain.

They would never open again.

* * *

Issei exhaled as Raynare bled out on the cross. The massive strength boost had worked better than he'd ever expected it to, but he no longer had any need of it.

"Hey, Ddraig?" Issei said, looking down at his hand. "You can turn it off now."

 **"Are you sure you won't need it any longer?"**

"Yeah."

 **"All right then, partner. I trust your judgment. Get ready."**

All the power, all the strength, all the energy seemed to leave Issei at once. What was left of the veil disappeared, and Issei fell to his knees.

"Issei!" Asia cried. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah," Issei said, trying to catch the breath that had been knocked out him. "Just… give me a second."

As he stood and turned to face Asia, though, the blonde nun looked up at his shoulder. "Issei, you're hurt."

"Oh, this?" the brunette asked with a weak smile. "It's nothing. Really."

"Issei, I can fix it. Just watch."

Her hand reached up, and to Issei's surprise, a green glow began to cover the injury where Freed's bullet had hit him. The real surprise, however, was feeling the pain dissipate and the flesh begin to heal itself.

"What the heck?" Issei asked. "I mean, thanks, Asia, but… what was that? Some sort of… Sacred Gear?"

Asia nodded, but before she could respond, there were sounds of new footsteps on the stairs that lead into the basement.

"Get behind me, Asia," the brunette said. "Looks like I spoke too soon." The largest spear he could make formed in his hand.

When the person finally stepped into the light, Issei was momentarily thrown off by how cowed and terrified they appeared.

She was blue-haired, with a red dress that was well past scandalous in how much skin it showed. But with her hands on her head and the terrified expression of her face, Issei wasn't paying attention to her beauty.

Then, a few seconds later, Abigail Canary stepped off the stairs, The Sweeper in her hands and pointed at the woman's back.

"Looks like I missed the party, Issei," the Nine said. "But I bet the story about it will be just as good."

* * *

 _And cut_.

 _I hope Issei didn't come across as too edgy here. Definitely wasn't my intent. On another topic, have you ever tried to write Freed? He's one of the hardest characters in DxD to even begin to capture effectively._

 _Finally, I know that I'm directly expanding on things a bit with Issei's resistance to light. It just seemed rather logical that Angels might be somewhat able to resist the element they freely wield. Also, I didn't make up the "forcing light spear up from the ground" technique – it's shown in Volume 23._


	15. Reality Ensues

_I do not own Higschool DxD_.

* * *

Abigail took a few steps forward and jammed the gun into the blue-haired woman's back. "Move an inch and I'll blow your head off," she said to the woman, using the same sort of tone she might use to order takeout, before stepping in front of her. The blue-haired woman seemed petrified.

"What are you doing here, Abigail?" Issei asked.

"Well, I came to your house for lunch today – your mother's a wonderful cook, by the way – and I thought I'd wait for you at your house and talk with your parents. When you didn't come home when your parents said you would, I stepped outside to look for you and saw someone flying across town."

"And you thought it was me?" Issei inquired.

"Hey, in my defense, they were really far away," Abigail said. "Could only see a silhouette. Anyway, I watched where they were going, and they were headed to the church. Ran over here and there were three Fallen Angels outside. There was… a bit of a scuffle."

"You blasted them in half…" the kneeling woman whimpered, sniffling. "We tried to-"

" _You_ did," Abigail said, "after I killed the other two. Hence why you're alive." Then, Abigail's head cocked, and she leaned to her right somewhat. Issei looked to his left and saw that Asia had leaned out slightly, tears in her eyes.

"Hello there," the Nine said, offering a warm smile. "What's your name?"

"A-Asia…" the blonde nun stammered, taking a small step back.

"Asia, huh? I'm Abigail. And don't worry, Asia. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm an Angel."

When Abigail's four wings appeared, Asia's eyes bulged nearly out of their sockets.

Abigail giggled at the sight of the girl's face. "You know that Issei's an Angel too, right?"

"I-I… did…" Asia's face looked towards Issei's at that point. In response, Issei spread his own wings and let his halo appear.

Asia's face turned red at the sight, and she folded her hands and bowed her head, not speaking; Issei could only assume that she feared appearing foolish in front of beings she held in such high regard.

Abigail turned back to Issei. "Well, Issei, I need to take our prisoner to Second Heaven and let them know that we're going to have a human guest pretty soon. In the meantime, _you_ ought to call your folks and explain what's going on – they're pretty worried."

"Ooh… yeah, probably should do that. You have my number, right?"

"Yeah, I'll call you when it's all arranged. Shouldn't take more than a few minutes." She turned around and looked at the blue-haired woman, still kneeling, and pointed her gun at her. "All right, on your feet… what, Kalawarner, was it?"

The woman, apparently named Kalawarner, obeyed.

"Turn around."

The woman obeyed this, too, and Abigail slid her arms around the woman's torso, holding the barrel of her gun directly under the woman's chin. "Stay still."

Abigail and her prisoner vanished into a cross.

The moment the two left, Issei felt a slight tap on his arm. When he turned, Asia stood there, eyes struggling to meet his.

"Issei… where did she mean when she said…"

Issei swallowed. "You, uh… you ever want to know what Heaven looks like, Asia?"

Asia's whole body shook.

"Stupid question," Issei said quickly. "But… yeah. Heaven. I bet Lord Raguel or someone in his chain will want to ask you some questions…"

"Lord Raguel?"

"Head of investigation. Never met him. All I know about him is his role and that he exists." He shrugged helplessly.

Asia nodded in reply but said nothing.

"You don't need to worry about anything, Asia," Issei said in an attempt to comfort her. "Nothing bad's going to happen, I promise. You're safe now."

Another nod, but still no reply.

"Asia, I-"

Asia shook her head, and Issei finally clued in that she wasn't in the mood to talk. Instead, the brunette took a breath and nodded.

Then, he pulled his phone out and dialed in a familiar number. The person on the other end picked up on the second ring.

" _Issei!_ " the Jack's mother nearly screamed into his ear. "Where the hell are you and why didn't you call?!"

"At the old church," Issei replied, wincing against the pain in his ear. "There's been a bit of trouble. The situation's dealt with, but I'll have to head straight to Heaven. Don't worry, I'm not hurt. Just need to get some things up there straightened out before I start my training. I'll see you tonight, okay?"

Issei could hear his mother take a deep breath. "All right, Issei. It's just… you about gave your father and I heart attacks when you didn't come home."

"I'm sorry," Issei said. "Stuff happened so fast. Wasn't thinking about it. It won't happen again, I promise."

"We're holding you to that, Issei."

"Got it. I'll have to keep this short, though – I'm expecting a call from Abigail."

"All right, Issei. We'll see you in the evening, I suppose."

"See you then."

When the call cut off, Issei didn't put his phone away. Instead, he went back to his contacts and checked a new number.

 _Might as well do her a courtesy…_

One ring, then two. Three. Four.

It was ten rings and mere seconds before he considered just calling the other number that the call was answered.

"Hello, Rias Gremory speaking."

"Hey, Rias, it's Issei."

"Hmm? What is it, Issei? Do you need something?"

"Not exactly. Just wanted to warn you about someone."

"Who's that?"

"Well, there's been a bit of an incident at the church – everyone but the person I need to warn you about's already dealt with. Just, I fought against a rogue exorcist while I was here, but he got away. White hair, red eyes, apparently his name is "Freed Sellzen". Acts crazy all the time and really, _really_ likes killing. I don't know if he'll skip town, but I thought I ought to let you know he was around."

"Oh dear," Rias said, her voice carrying the slightest hint of nervousness. "Well, thank you for the heads-up, Issei. I'll pass that information to Sona."

"You're welcome, Rias."

The line clicked off, and Issei slid his phone into his pocket. Then, as he looked around, something else hit him, something he'd been subconsciously aware of but simply hadn't fully comprehended.

The gigantic spears of red light that pinned the exorcists to the walls were still there, despite that Issei had long since broken his connection with them.

 _This because of Ddraig? It didn't work like that before…_

Frowning, Issei looked down at his left arm, and opened his mouth to inquire about exactly that, but just as he was about to speak, his phone started ringing. Issei sighed, making a mental note to ask later as he withdrew his phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Issei," came Abigail's voice. "They're ready for you. I'll meet you at the front gate of First Heaven."

"Got it."

The line clicked off, and Issei turned to Asia. "Okay, Asia, I've gotten the call. You and I need to go to Heaven. You ready?"

"No," Asia replied after a moment. "But… I doubt I'll ever be. What do you need me to do?"

"Come here," Issei said, opening his arms.

Without hesitating, Asia darted into them, her smaller frame pressing itself against Issei's chest. Issei's arms wrapped around her shoulders, and he began the process of teleportation.

Soon, all that was left in the basement were the impaled bodies of the dead.

* * *

When they arrived on the path of golden bricks that led to the massive gate outside First Heaven, Issei and Asia didn't immediately disentangle. Instead, Asia remained with her arms wrapped around Issei's chest for several moments more, faintly shaking.

Issei let her, of course; the poor girl had more than enough reason to want someone close.

Eventually, however, this had to end, and Asia slowly, very much unwillingly pulled herself away from Issei and nodded, her eyes red.

As they walked towards the gate, one of Issei's arms slid protectively around Asia's shoulders, the gate guards moved to wave them by.

"Issei Hyoudou, right?" one of them asked.

"Yep," the brunette replied.

"Okay, you're clear to – what the heck?" The guard had cut herself off as she took a glance at Issei's right arm, at the scales that had replaced his skin up to his shoulder. Finger pointing at it, she looked at him with an expression of shock. "What happened to your arm?"

Issei stopped, turned his head and looked her dead in the eye. "I gave it to the dragon sealed in my soul for a temporary boost in power."

The guard blinked, apparently waiting for him to crack a smile or laugh. When he didn't, she said, "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Go ask the Fallen Angel I skewered on a spear."

Then, Issei and Asia stepped through the gate, leaving both guards scratching their heads.

On the other side of the gate, meanwhile, Abigail Canary stood not fifteen steps away.

"Okay, Issei, I can take things from here." She looked down at the blonde nun. "Asia, wasn't it?"

The blonde nodded, shrinking ever more as she fully took in the scenery and had the weight of being in _Heaven_ crash down on her.

"Asia, I know I'm asking a lot by doing this, but I need you to trust me," Abigail said, her voice a sweet, warm tone. She put her hand out, palm up. "Can you do that?"

Asia swallowed, then slowly nodded, her hand shakily extending to take the Nine's.

"If you need to take her to Lord Raguel," Issei said, "I can take her myself. It's no problem."

Abigail looked up at him, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Issei, that's not really the issue here. You'd be going to Fifth Heaven regardless."

"Why?"

"Raphael wants you in his office. Immediately."

* * *

"Why do I get the feeling I'm in serious trouble?" Issei asked.

"Intuition, perhaps," Raphael replied in a voice of liquid nitrogen. "But my guess goes to prior experience."

Issei stood in front of Raphael, stiff as a board. The door was shut, and Raphael's face was back to that unsettling, tranquil expression that made it obvious he was seething mad.

"Would you like to take a guess why you might be in serious trouble, Issei?"

"I… may or may not have lead a one-man assault on a church of rogue exorcists and a Fallen Angel with no one backing me up?"

"Why, what an excellent and _specific_ guess." Raphael's fingers laced together on the desk in front of him, staring at Issei with narrowed, flint-hard eyes. "I won't spend more time on sarcasm. Explain yourself, Issei."

Issei swallowed. "Well, I mean… where do you want me to start?"

Raphael's eyes narrowed further, and he gestured to Issei's draconic arm. "Perhaps you can begin with that."

"All right..."

* * *

"What do you mean, "talk power"?" Issei demanded of the dragon sealed within his soul. He could barely keep the panic out of his voice as he saw Raynare's silhouette fade into the distance towards the church.

 **"You want power, right? Strength to take back what's precious to you?"** the Red Dragon Emperor replied. **"I can give you that. I'll give it to you any time you want it, in fact – a dragon's power."**

"How?" the brunette snapped.

 **"Tell me something first, Issei."**

"What?"

 **"What kind of strength do you need? What is it you want to increase? You know that the Boosted Gear multiplies power and then transfers it to something else. But by accepting my help, I can make that something more, something much stronger. What is it you need?"**

"I'm still not following."

An annoyed snort came from the dragon. **"A stronger strike? Faster movements? An impregnable defense? What do you** **need** **to obliterate your enemy?"**

Issei's tongue ran around his teeth as he looked down at his hands. Even as he did so, his mind raced through the possibilities.

Faster movements would probably be limited in capability in the church. Stronger strikes relied too much on his close-combat skills, which Issei didn't trust enough to stake Asia's life on. Impregnable defense wouldn't help get to Raynare.

As he looked down at his hands, Issei formed a tiny spear of light in his dominant right. He gave a single nod.

"Got something that lets me constantly transfer power to something else?"

A chuckle came from the dragon. **"I'm not too surprised by that answer. Yeah, I've got an idea cooked up. Now, the question is, what are you willing to pay for it?"**

"What do you want?"

 **"Your pound of flesh. A part of your body which I can replace with my own flesh and bone. Once that's done, I can release a bit of my strength."**

"All right, which piece?"

 **"No qualms about that, then? It's up to you, of course, but which arm is your dominant arm?"**

"My right."

 **"Give that to me, then. It might just prove helpful. And another thing – this power I grant you will be massive, but you'll only have it temporarily. Once you activate it, you'll have until I count to ten. After that, I'll have to take it away from you or your body will not survive. And you won't be able to use the Boosted Gear until you've spent this built-up energy. Got that?"**

Issei nodded, eyes narrowing. "Yeah. You want my right arm? Take it."

Ddraig laughed, and before the Jack's eyes, his skin began to swell, twist and redden…

* * *

"So," Raphael said, "you gave your arm to Ddraig. Why?"

Issei continued talking, recounting how he'd skipped school to spend time with Asia, his day with her, her abduction, his battle with Freed, his slaughter of the other rogues in the basement and his dispatching of Raynare.

When he'd finally finished, Raphael rested his chin on his knuckles and, for several moments, said nothing, seemingly turning the entire thing over in his mind.

"Let me be sure I understand this correctly," the Seraph finally said. "You weren't able to stop the Fallen Angel who murdered you from abducting your friend. So, rather than come to Heaven and immediately get our help, you instead feed your own flesh to your Sacred Gear and charge blindly into a building, totally unaware of either the layout or what forces might be stationed there." His hand moved up, slowly rubbing the bridge of his nose, eyes shut. "Issei Hyoudou, I seem to recall a conversation we had. Something about not charging in blindly and putting yourself in unnecessary danger? Do you remember that?"

"Yes, sir," Issei mumbled.

"Then what's your reason for this? Why in Heaven's name would you ever refrain from getting our help?"

"I-I wasn't sure if Heaven would…" Issei trailed off.

"Help you?" Raphael finished. "Why would we not help you?"

"Because… Asia's an exile, and…" The brunette swallowed as he said those words, realizing as he said it just how stupid that reasoning was.

Raphael, meanwhile, had shifted posture, resting his temple against his knuckles. His eyes burned two holes through Issei as he spoke again.

"Issei Hyoudou, do you truly have so little faith in the people you're supposed to call your comrades that you think they'd be that petty? That they'd let a person you care about be hurt just because they were a church exile? And even if you did, did you ever consider simply refraining from bringing that fact up to them and simply framing the issue as your friend needing help, devoid of any religious connotation? Which would be worse, a harmless lie of omission or potentially getting yourself killed in a foolhardy rescue effort?"

Issei swallowed. "Well, sir, there's also the chance that no one was in your building-"

"Two second's thinking would tell you that that's not the case," Raphael said, cutting him off. "Elizabeth was waiting for you to arrive, and of all the people in my deck, she would have been among the most willing to help you." Raphael's arms folded. "But even if all my other Saints were absent, Issei, that still ignores a crucial detail."

"What's that, sir?"

Raphael's expression grew even more irritated. "In your mind, Issei, do I suddenly cease to exist every time I step outside your vision?"

"You'd have helped me if I'd asked?"

"That you even need to ask that speaks volumes. Yes, Issei, I would most certainly have helped you. Asia Argento being an exile from the church means nothing to me. She is someone you consider your friend, and you – with good reason, I might add – believed she was in mortal danger. I would have employed every bit of strength I had to help save her."

"Oh…" Issei said, now feeling incredibly stupid. Yet again, his King had verbally cornered him and picked his entire thought process apart.

"Two times you pull the same stunt in two days," Raphael said. "I could mostly forgive the first one as simple inexperience and hotheadedness. But when you so easily disregard my words so quickly afterwards, Issei, I'm left to believe you're either deliberately defying me for a kick or have a catastrophic tendency to not think things through. Needless to say, Issei, you will be punished for this."

The Jack nodded again, swallowing as his eyes slid down. "Yes, sir. What will that be?"

"I'm not altogether sure," Raphael admitted, letting out a long, slow breath. "Your training with Elizabeth won't be cancelled – achieving your Balance Breaker will greatly improve your own capability, as well as make you a much greater asset to Heaven as a whole. Thus, punishing you by not letting you be trained towards that goal would be a poor judgment for me to make. And you're already stuck on library duty on Sunday and have school during the day. There's very little free time in your schedule in which a punishment could possibly be served, and imprisoning you doesn't seem like the right option, either."

"Yes, sir," Issei said meekly. They were the only words he could reply with.

"One other thing, Issei," Raphael continued. "While I may not yet have come up with a punishment for your latest transgression, I do know exactly what I will do if you do this even one more time. Are you familiar with a "three strikes" rule, Issei?"

"Yes, sir," Issei said again.

Raphael held up two fingers. "You're at two strikes. One for the incident with the Sunlight Moth, and one for what you did today. Don't misunderstand, Issei, your heart was in the right place, but it was monumentally stupid all the same. So, let me be perfectly clear as to what I will do if you pull this sort of stunt again."

Issei took a deep breath as Raphael raised a third finger.

"You're only allowed to stay in Kuoh because I have given you permission," the King of Clubs said coldly. "One more incident like this, Issei, and I will rescind that freedom. You will no longer attend school in Kuoh and will remain in Heaven full-time. You will not be allowed to leave at all unless I or another Seraph gives you permission. Any visit to your parents will be allowed solely at my discretion, and I or one of my Saints will accompany you on each and every one of those visits to be absolutely certain that you will not be able to get yourself into more trouble."

"How long would that last, sir?" Issei asked.

"Until I say otherwise," Raphael said. "We'd finish your education and continue your training, of course. But besides those visits to your parents, you will essentially be kept in Heaven unless you decide to fall. Not out of malice or a desire to make you miserable – on the contrary, it would be as much for your own good as anything else. But at that point, Issei, I'd have to judge that you simply aren't mature enough to handle the level of autonomy that not being under Heaven's direct supervision grants you."

"So what you're saying is-"

"You want me to simplify that, Issei? _Grow up_." The King's voice was uncharacteristically angry. "Stop running in and expecting to just blast through an obstacle. You may think you've overcome things twice, but the fact of the matter is that you got _lucky_ twice. Keep going the way you have, and sooner or later fate _will_ call you on your recklessness. I saw it happen time and again during the Three Faction War, and I've seen it countless times since. Learn from the past before repeating their mistakes destroys you."

With that, Raphael pointed at Issei's scaled arm. "Go to the laboratory on this floor," Raphael said. "Ask for Uriel and see if he has anything that could return your arm to normal. Be quick about it and don't make Elizabeth wait."

"Yes, sir."

Raphael didn't bother giving him a farewell, and Issei was just as eager to leave.

* * *

"Is Issei in trouble?" Asia asked nervously, her head flitting about as she followed the young woman named Abigail down the brick pathways of First Heaven.

"Judging by how mad Lord Raphael was," Abigail replied, "probably." She blew a gust of air upwards from her lips, sending a string of her light brown hair bouncing upwards.

"Is… Issei one of Raphael's Saints?" Asia asked, trying to keep her focus on anything but the Angels that now surrounded her on all sides; for the young nun who'd never met an Angel face to face, this whole experience was at once an honor and terrifying.

"Yep," Abigail said. "I am too."

They were approaching a gigantic pillar of stone now, one which seemed to have a metal door set into the side. And when Abigail pressed her finger on part of the metal, the door swung wide.

"Just an elevator," Abigail assured her. "I could teleport you, but there's no massive rush and I don't use this thing often enough."

Asia didn't reply while Abigail tapped one of the buttons, and barely felt the elevator moving upwards. Her thoughts were in another place – wondering about what would happen now.

As much as she'd hated to do it, the nun had had to lean on the Fallen Angels after the church had exiled her. And now even they were dead. It wasn't that she hated Issei for what he'd done; on the contrary, she was more grateful than she had words for that he'd seen fit to rescue her. But that still left the question of what came after wide open.

Only when the door swung wide and the sunlight of Fifth Heaven jumped into the elevator did Asia's focus come back to the here and now.

Following Abigail in silence, Angel and nun walked towards an office-like building, dotted with numerous windows. Through its stone courtyard that lacked any shrubbery they strode.

As the glass doors swung wide, Asia realized that this building was some sort of police station. A reception desk dominated much of the floor, Angels milling about and reviewing paperwork throughout the entrance. Hallways spread off in different directions along the lengthy central floor, while dozens of chairs were set out in rows near the front windows.

Asia suddenly felt even smaller than before.

Abigail, meanwhile, strode up to the desk and began talking with the person on duty. Asia wasn't paying much attention to what was said, too busy was she with trying to shrink out of existence. She very quickly regretted she had been, however, when Abigail suddenly turned to face her.

"Well, Asia, I don't mean to ditch you, but they want you to just wait in the reception area." Her hand swept over the chairs. "Take a seat anywhere you want, basically. Someone will come fetch you when they're ready for you. Other than that, they don't need me hanging around – and trust me, if they don't need you in this place, they don't want you here."

Asia nodded, a knot tying itself in her gut as she sat in one of the black chairs and Abigail squeezed her shoulder.

After one final reassurance, Abigail walked out, leaving Asia alone once more.

Well, perhaps not alone exactly, but with her company, she would have vastly preferred to be. Anxiety danced around Asia's brain as she observed the Angels, who usually would give a nod if they noticed her staring and nothing else. There was no malice in it, but it left Asia feeling terrified all the same. And of course, every time she was able to get her mind off the Angels around her for more than a few seconds, her thoughts would trundle right back to her destroyed life situation.

So she sat there for several minutes, her mind jumping back and forth between current and future fears, so absorbed in this task that she almost didn't realize it when a feminine voice called her name.

"Asia Argento?"

After a few seconds, Asia's head snapped up. Greeting her gaze was the sight of a woman, dressed in white and striding towards her.

"Y-yes… you're ready…?" Asia stammered, barely able to raise her voice above a whisper.

The female Angel chuckled. "You needn't be so nervous, Asia. We only want to ask you a few questions, nothing else." She closed the distance between them in a few steps and extended a gloved hand.

With some reservation, Asia took it. With a gentle tug, the woman began to lead Asia away from the reception area and down one of the halls. After a few doors, the Angel suddenly stopped at one, opened it, and ushered Asia inside.

The room was completely bare, holding only a table and three chairs. The walls and tile were all an ivory chalk color.

"Wh-what's your name?" Asia asked as she took a seat, trying to feel even a semblance of normality in the world.

As the woman took a seat at the other end of the table, on one end of which sat a clipboard and some paper, she gave a warm smile.

"I am Valkost, Asia. Let's begin, shall we?"

* * *

And cut.


	16. Two Discussions

_I do not own Highschool DxD._

* * *

"Begin?" Asia asked softly, before she gave a slow, timid nod. Her eyes refused to meet Valkost's. "R-Right… Issei… he… said that you'd have questions…"

The Angel in white nodded as she looked the paper over. "That's the case, Asia. I know it's probably been an awful day, but I need to get this information while it's still fresh in your memory. I'll try to make it as quick as possible. All I really want is the whole story as you experienced it."

Asia nodded, swallowing. Her hands balled into fists, she rested her cheeks on her knuckles and stared at the metal table. "…where should I start…?"

At that, Valkost reached across the table and put a gloved hand on Asia's arm, squeezing gently, reassuringly. In a kind voice, she asked, "Your name is familiar to me – I know that at one time, you were a healer for the church. How did you come to be in Japan?"

At that question, Asia visibly shuddered, eyes moistening. But she did not allow herself to be consumed by tears. Instead, one of her hands moved and her fingers brushed at her eyes. She allowed herself one swallow of breath and saliva, then two.

"I… I was approached by a man who was hurt… he was a Devil, but… he seemed nice enough. I healed him… I thought no one saw, but…" She shook her head, the burning sensation of unshed tears clawing behind her eyes. "They threw me out not too long after, and... then this woman approached me and offered me shelter…"

On and on this story went, relaying her plane flight to Kuoh, the absence of the person whom the woman claimed would be there to pick her up, and wandering through the streets trying to get to the church. Being surrounded by people who she couldn't understand and who couldn't understand her.

Of Issei, seemingly from nowhere, stepping in and helping her. As she explained this part of the story, she privately remembered call Issei "an Angel sent by the Lord himself". When she'd said it, she'd never in her wildest dreams have believed how accurate that descriptor actually was.

Then, the days of waiting, of being reassured that there were just delays with the transfer to her new home. Of the endless hours of waiting around in the church while Raynare shouted into the phone about the acquisition of supplies.

Then, the morning she was due to "leave", Raynare had gone off somewhere, while Dohnaseek, Mittelt and Kalawarner had all voted to go out for the day and relax. When Asia had asked if she could visit Issei, Kalawarner had offhandedly told her where he could be found.

The day with Issei went just as fast. Then Raynare returning to retrieve her and threatening Issei's life, and how Asia had realized at that moment that Raynare meant her harm. She told of her futile attempts to escape, and how she'd ultimately been chained up while Raynare did… something.

When Valkost asked her for more specifics, however, Asia could only shrug helplessly. She'd had no idea what exactly Raynare had wanted to do to her, and frankly, she didn't care. Then, Issei had arrived with that thick veil of red, and disposed of Raynare with no effort.

"And that's how I ended up here…" Asia finished, slowly exhaling. She'd been telling the story for nearly half an hour, explaining every detail. Not once had she let herself cry.

Valkost had been furiously taking notes on her clipboard, running through several pages' worth of paper. At the nun's words, the Angel in white nodded. "Is there anything else? Anything at all?"

Asia bit her lip and shook her head. "No… that's everything I can think of…"

Valkost nodded at that, brow furrowing, and for a few moments, she sorted through papers and reread them, seeming as though to scan for a piece of information that wasn't there.

Asia wanted to let her work, to let the Angel in the room have their peace whilst they sorted out their affairs. But the question had burned ever since she had arrived in Heaven, and Asia could bear it no longer.

"V-Valkost?"

The Angel's eyes flicked up. "Yes, Asia?"

"May I… ask a question?"

"Of course," Valkost said, that warm smile coming back to her lips. "What is it?"

"What's Heaven going to do to me?"

"Do to you?" Valkost asked. "What do you mean, "do to you"? I can virtually guarantee that no one in Heaven plans to experiment on you or harm you in any way. Do you mean to ask how they intend to handle your case?"

"The… second one, I guess," Asia whispered, now even more fearful.

At that, Valkost shook her head, a sad expression on her face. "Asia Argento, I cannot and will not make any guarantees as to what the Seraphim intend to do regarding your case. I'm unaware as to what their thoughts are or will be. The Seraphim will probably hear your case out, but there's little I can say as to what they will do after that. I'm sorry."

Asia bit her lip and remained silent. Several minutes passed as Valkost's eyes swept the papers again and again, her brow furrowing more and more as the seconds ticked by.

Finally, Valkost began picking up the papers, sorting and organizing them onto the clipboard. Once she'd finished, she stood from her chair.

"Thank you for the information, Asia," the Angel said. "Could I get you to come with me?"

Without a word, Asia nodded. Each stood, Valkost leading the walk out of the white room with Asia following not far behind.

Valkost didn't stop at the front desk as Asia had thought she would; instead, she and the nun kept walking, striding straight out the front door. The nun's eyes were almost immediately overwhelmed by the bright light of Fifth Heaven's outdoors and staggered along behind the Angel in white with her hands over her eyes.

As they walked, Asia steadily realized that they were headed towards the elevator once more, whose door swung wide at Valkost's touch.

Asia followed her in without question or complaint, despite the fear that laced her veins. Valkost said nothing as she pushed a button on the wall.

The elevator door shut, and Asia felt the ground beneath her begin to rise. Then, after a minute or so, it stopped, the metal door sliding open.

Before she'd even stepped out the door, Asia's nose was immediately bathed in the scents of a thousand fruits, and as she stepped out, she slowly took in the beauty of what surrounded her.

A massive plain stood around her, with soft green grass and trees dotting the landscape, flowers growing in wild patches. On the trees hung the sources of the scent, but before Asia could look further, she felt Valkost's hand take hers.

"Asia, there's someone I'd like you to meet. No surprise that he's here."

Asia looked forwards then, and not far off, she could see a blonde-haired man dressed in a priest's vestment seated beneath one of the trees. As the Angel and nun drew close, she could see one of his shut eyes lazily creak open.

"Ah, Valkost," the young man said. "How are you? And who's this with you?"

"I'm currently somewhat occupied with a mystery," Valkost said. Unexpectedly, Valkost pulled Asia forwards to stand in front of her, arms on her shoulders. The pull wasn't hard or painful, just sudden. "And I need your help."

"What do you need?" the young man asked.

"This young lady was just rescued from the Fallen Angels by Lord Raphael's Jack. Unfortunately, he's apparently gotten himself into trouble and I don't think it's in anyone's interest for her to be left alone in Heaven. Would you mind…?"

The young man smiled and pushed himself to his feet. Valkost, meanwhile, released her hands from Asia's shoulders, thanked the young man, and turned to leave.

"What's your name?" the young man asked kindly, hand extending as Valkost walked away.

"Asia Argento," the nun replied as she took his hand. There was no stammer; his very presence seemed to calm her and left her feeling safe.

"Dulio Gesualdo," the young man replied.

Asia's nervousness all came rushing back to her in a singular burst.

She'd heard this name – faintly, perhaps, but it had been on the lips of many of the people who'd called her facility home.

"D-Dulio…" Asia stammered. " _The_ Dulio Gesualdo?"

"The so-called 'Strongest Exorcist', yeah," Dulio said, rolling his eyes. "Always hated that title. Don't think of me like that, Asia." His tone wasn't the sort of formal speech she'd always been addressed with by other church members. Instead, it was more like the sort of voice she'd thought an older brother might sound like.

Dulio's arm extended upwards, to grab a low-hanging fruit, which he twisted off the tree they stood beneath with ease. Once snapped from the stem, he held it out to her.

"Apple?"

* * *

As Issei walked out of the hospital courtyard, he could feel the stares of several Angels. None of them would be directed at his face, of course; his crimson-scaled arm would be of far greater interest.

The Jack found himself remembering the first time he'd walked out of this hospital, just a month earlier. How nervous he'd been and how he'd tried to hide behind Raphael.

He was still nervous even now – all that had changed was the reason.

The brunette's mind ran back over Raphael's words again and again. How the Jack had screwed up again and the punishment he'd suffer if he made one more mistake like that.

As one might expect, of course, there wasn't just nervousness in Issei's brain. Anger swam through his mind right next to it.

He'd saved Asia, hadn't he? Cut through an entire swath of rogue exorcists and gone toe-to-toe with another with his fists and a bit of light magic? Beaten a Fallen Angel, his own murderer, in two moves? Didn't that count for anything?

If Raphael's thoughts on that were any indicator, the answer was a very angry "no". And Issei couldn't understand that. Sure, he could see now that coming to get Raphael's help would have been a good idea, but how could he have known that then?

He entered the laboratory's entrance with those thoughts still tearing back and forth through his head, fighting for dominance like a pair of angry wolves.

The laboratory entrance itself was rather flat, with dull, grey walls and black carpet. A desk sat out in front with several couches along the walls; no one sat in them.

"Hyoudou!"

Issei's head snapped back to the reception desk and the Angel sitting behind it, and let a smile grace his lips. "Hey, Ezekiel."

"Didn't I tell you to call me Zeke?" Michael's Ten asked with a grin. "Anyway, what brings you up here? Need supplies or something?"

"Uh… not exactly," Issei said, walking up and putting his scaled right arm on the desk.

Ezekiel's eyes snapped wide as he looked at Issei's arm, made from dragon flesh from the shoulder down to the fingertips. "Okay… that… wasn't what I was expecting."

"Yeah, bit of a story about why my arm's like this. The short version is that I got myself into some trouble."

"Again?"

Issei nodded. "And I'm in trouble with Lord Raphael. Again. No idea what he's going to do to punish me yet, but he said to come over here and ask if Lord Uriel might have something to change my arm back to normal."

"Don't know of any myself," Ezekiel said. "Then again, Lord Uriel knows way more about stuff like this than I do." He pushed himself from his chair and reached into the drawer of the desk. From it he extracted a sign, which he stood on the desk; Issei couldn't read the letters, but it was obvious that it was to indicate that the Angel on duty would be back as soon as possible.

Ezekiel, meanwhile, came around the side, motioning for Issei to follow him behind the desk and through one of the doors behind it.

Down they went through halls not unlike those of the hospital, cleaned excellently and with similar styling. The only difference was what was behind the glass – instead of hospital rooms, there were Angels working over benches or microscopes or notes or whatever else.

After a few twists and turns and a pair of staircases, Issei and Ezekiel stood outside a large pair of steel doors.

"This is it," Ezekiel said. "Lord Uriel's personal laboratory and workshop. He pressed a button on the wall near the door, and a loud buzzing sound went through both Angel's ears.

"Come in," came a deep, booming voice.

"That'd be the man himself," Ezekiel said. "See ya, Issei."

"Wait, you're leaving me here?" Issei asked, eyes darting back and forth.

"I've gotta get back to my desk. Like I said, see ya. Don't keep the man waiting."

As Ezekiel walked away, Issei swallowed and stepped up to the door, turning its handle with extreme gentleness.

He pulled it open. Stepped inside. And immediately, he dropped into a bow.

Uriel, as it turned out, was much of what he'd imagined Michael would be – a tall man, hard-cut in his features, and with a voice that left Issei feeling as though his very bones were being shaken.

"Rise," the Seraph said.

Issei did so, and the Seraph frowned.

"My apologies, young man, but I haven't the faintest idea as to your name."

"Issei Hyoudou, sir. You're Lord Uriel, I assume?"

"Raphael's Jack, hmm? And yes, I am." He stuck a hand out, and when Issei took it with his own, Uriel's eyebrows raised. "Oh, dear."

Uriel's hand slipped down, releasing the scaled hand that it had held. "Let me see if I can guess the story. You gave your arm to Ddraig?"

"Yes, sir…" Issei said, eyes studying the floor. "Lord Raphael chewed me out about getting myself into trouble this afternoon and then sent me over here."

Uriel smirked. "Well, aren't you just the luckiest of people? A certain Seraph looked through the Boosted Gear's history and stocked up the exact thing that's required to fix this problem."

"Err… thank you, sir?"

A chuckle came from Uriel. "It wasn't me, Issei."

"Lord Raphael, then?"

"Wrong again."

"Then… who, sir?"

The smirk widened. "Gabriel."

Issei blinked, and Uriel continued. "I'm a tad ashamed to admit that I hadn't even thought about that possibility until Gabriel brought it up. She tells me the two of you have met."

"We have, sir. In the Garden of Eden."

"She also tells me that your wings were flickering the entire time you were talking to her."

"…no comment, sir," Issei said, eyes darting back and forth as sweat jumped onto his forehead.

"Oh, don't worry, Issei. You're not the first Angel who's been entranced by her, and you certainly won't be the last. She _is_ rather beautiful, after all."

Issei's eye twitched as he looked at the Seraph and his thoughts began to run away with themselves. Uriel's face turned to a sarcastic frown.

"I'm her brother, Issei, but I'm not blind. No, she does not and has never tempted me."

"That's a relief, sir."

"Why?" Uriel asked, the smirk returning. "Thinking of going after her yourself?"

"…no comment, sir."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck, Issei. Many before you have tried and every one of them has failed to get past the first date."

"Sir? Could we get back to the initial issue?"

Uriel chuckled. "I suppose that's possible." He turned and walked over to the wall; only then did Issei realize that the "wall" had a handle sticking out of it.

The Seraph reached up to the wall and pressed his hand against it, and almost immediately, a holographic screen popped up. Hitting-long memorized keys with extreme rapidity, to the point that Issei couldn't even see the menus, much less what was entered, Uriel sped through the opening process in seconds. Once he'd finished, he turned the handle, and the "wall" pulled away as the door swung wide.

For a few seconds, Uriel rooted around with his back turned to Issei. Then, he picked up something, turned, and exited the safe.

In his hands was a velvet bag about the size of Issei's arm, held closed with drawstrings, which Uriel proceeded to loosen. Once sufficiently opened, Uriel reached into the bag and withdrew something.

"Hold this in your right hand, Issei," the Seraph said as he passed the item in question to Issei, who took it in the ordered limb. Looking down, he saw that it was a black octahedron, perfectly proportioned.

"Now, squeeze the crystal hard enough to crack it," Uriel instructed. "With how strong Ddraig's flesh is, that shouldn't be hand. The crystal will do the rest."

The crystal crunched in Issei's hand, but for a few moments, the brunette thought he'd somehow screwed up.

Then the pain started.

It started slow, but it built rapidly until Issei felt as though his entire arm had been doused in gasoline and had a lit match tossed to it. Renewed sweat flowed from his skin, seeping into his clothes, and it was all he could do to not scream.

Then the pain grew even further, and Issei couldn't hold it back any longer.

* * *

The next minute felt like several eternities to Issei, cries of brutal pain sweeping through Uriel's laboratory. As the seconds wore on, the pain continuously worsened and made the experience ever more unbearable. Issei steadily dropped to his knees, trying with all his might to keep the crystal in his hand – and as he watched, he could see the scales on his flesh steadily vanishing, creeping downwards from his shoulder as though the crystal were a pump drawing out water.

Then, just as the last of the scales on his arm vanished, the pain stopped. It didn't slow dull the way it had slowly increased. Instead, it was completely instantaneous, and Issei let out several gasps.

The teen slowly got to his feet, looking at the crystal. To his surprise, it now glowed with a crimson light filtered through black.

Issei looked up at Uriel, who nodded. "Well, that seems to have worked. I will say, though, Issei, your pain tolerance needs work. That'll only buy you a few days of normality before you'll have to do this again."

"Wait, _what_? How long until it stops?"

Uriel shrugged. "How long do Angels live? About that long, minus a few days."

"Say _what_?"

"You heard me," Uriel said pleasantly. "It'll be constantly trying to change back. One more reason to leave the school you're enrolled in, I think, but that choice isn't up to me."

"And you're sure there's no less painful way to do that, sir?"

"Mmm… there is one that I know of."

"Why can't we do it that way, sir?"

"Well," Uriel said, finger resting on his chin, "the procedure would essentially involve me literally sucking the aura that's changing your flesh out through your fingers. Using my mouth."

Issei blinked once. Twice.

"…how many more of those crystals did you say you had, sir?"

"I thought you'd see it my way." Uriel passed him the bag. "This is probably about a two month's supply of them, give or take a week. No reason to give you the whole supply. If and when you need more, just come ask me."

"Yes, sir," Issei said, taking the bag and drawing it tight. He nodded to the King of Diamonds. "Well, Lord Uriel, it's been good to meet you, but I think Elizabeth is wondering where the heck I am."

"Not yet, Issei," Uriel said immediately. "There's something I wanted to ask you about."

"What is it, sir?"

"It's something Ezekiel told me." He pointed at Issei. "From what he says, you killed a Sunlight Moth recently."

"Yes sir, I did. What about it?"

"Do you still have the horn?"

Issei bit his lip as his thoughts raced for a brief moment. Then, he nodded. "Yes sir, I do."

"Would you mind if I had a look at it? Assuming you have no other plans for it, I mean. Sunlight Moth horns are often useful for research projects, and I don't get nearly enough of them."

"Well, sir, it's in my closet on the first floor. But we'll have to make it quick."

"Very well, Issei. Teleportation?"

"Teleportation, sir."

Soon enough, the lab stood empty.

* * *

When Issei rounded the corner into the central hall of the Clubs building, he wasn't the slightest bit surprised to see a very aggravated Elizabeth seated there.

That didn't mean he wasn't afraid, though.

"Issei Hyoudou!" she snapped. "Did I or did I not –"

She cut herself off the moment Uriel rounded the corner, and immediately fell into a bow.

"Rise, Elizabeth," the King of Diamonds said. "I'll let you get to tormenting Issei in a few minutes. I just need to have a look at something in his room."

"Very well," the Queen said. She gave the Jack's shoulder a meaningful squeeze as he walked by, and Issei shuddered, terror multiplying tenfold.

Without any more words exchanged between them, Issei and Uriel strode out of the meeting hall and towards Issei's room.

When they entered, Issei let out a slight whistle. It had been too long since he'd been in here and slept a night in his bed.

The brunette shook his head and walked over to the closet door. Pulling it aside, he reached inside and gently, very gently, pulled the silver horn from the shelf, taking extreme care to not bang it against the wall.

"My oh my…" Uriel said quietly as the brunette handed the horn to him. He flipped it around, examining every detail of it. "One of the largest horns I've seen in centuries," Uriel said. "Quality is exceptionally high – this moth must have drunk a huge amount of life force before it perished."

"Nearly a whole forest's worth, sir," Issei said.

"They're usually stopped much faster than that," Uriel said, nodding. "Cut is beautifully clean, as well. Minor detail, but it helps."

"Would it be useful for your research, sir?"

Uriel gave a light snort. "Issei, this horn, if offered to any sort of magical organization, would literally be worth its weight in whatever precious metal you'd care to demand. Yes, this horn will be of great help to a particular project I'm working on. If you're still willing to part with it after hearing that, that is."

"I'm fine with that, sir," Issei said quickly.

"Very well," Uriel said, nodding. His eyes trailed to Issei's right arm. "But before I go, Issei, I must ask… what happened that made you give Ddraig your arm?"

Issei took a long, slow breath. "I… well, someone I care about was abducted by a Fallen Angel. I didn't know if I was strong enough to fight them off on my own. Ddraig offered to help me and gave me his conditions."

"Did you succeed?" Uriel asked.

"Yes sir, I did."

"Then why was Raphael angry with you?"

"I… didn't come to Heaven to get reinforcement. And I ran off to deal with something on my own after he got mad at me for doing the same thing two days earlier."

"Oh, dear. You'll be punished again, I assume?"

"He hasn't said what that'll be, but yes. And apparently, if I do anything like that again, he'll lock me in Heaven until he deems me "ready"." Issei let out a dejected sigh.

"I see…" Uriel said, rubbing his chin. "Well, Issei, good luck in your training."

"Thank you, sir."

The Seraph vanished into a cross of light.

* * *

Elizabeth, as it turned out, couldn't have cared less about why Issei was late; she didn't even bother asking. Instead, she was angrier about the lost training time and was rather eager to make it up.

She ran him, made him use his muscles, constantly demanding he go faster, do more exercises. Nothing was good enough for her. And that was before the combat training started.

As it turned out, Elizabeth had been taking it easy on him. No longer did she allow him to slowly build up energy with the Boosted Gear before attacking him; instead, she simply came straight at him without giving him an inch. When he asked why, through ragged breath, she simply replied that he couldn't expect any opponent on the battlefield to give him that time.

And that was just for the immediately aggression in her movements – her blows were no longer light taps. Instead, they were full swings, absolutely meant to cause harm. None inflicted _significant_ injury, but that didn't mean Elizabeth's strikes didn't hurt like hell.

It was just as Elizabeth had slammed him to the ground that a voice called her name, and her focus shifted. The Jack tried to exploit this with a kick to the chest, but she easily moved to avoid it.

"Too obvious, Issei," she said. "On your feet. You can catch your breath while I speak to our visitor."

With that, she let go, and Issei was free to drag himself painfully to his feet.

And to his surprise, when he looked up, he saw a very familiar-looking Angel standing there.

"I hate to interrupt training, Elizabeth," Valkost said, "but I'm afraid that I'm going to need to borrow Issei for a little bit."

* * *

 _And cut_.

 _This took a bit longer than it should have, but in my defense, I was finishing up planning all but the Three of the deck as well as trying to outline Crescent and Heaven a bit._


	17. Investigative Work

_I do not own Highschool DxD._

* * *

"Borrow him?" Elizabeth asked as Issei pulled himself to his feet. "What for?"

"There's a hole in the story Asia tells me," Valkost said. "I think it's necessary to go look at this church she was being held in, and I'd like Issei to tell me his own version of events."

"Forgive my ignorance," Elizabeth said, "but I have no idea what you're talking about."

"He didn't tell you about the incident?" Valkost asked, shooting a glance at Issei.

"No," Elizabeth said, turning to face the brunette.

"I'll remind you that I tried to tell you why I was late," Issei said. "You told me you didn't care about it."

"That I did," Elizabeth admitted. "But if a high-level Angel is asking for you to help her investigate its aftermath, then I suppose it must be quite the story." She nodded towards him. "So…?"

Issei took a long, slow and deep breath, collecting his thoughts.

Then, he began, taking them through the first time he'd met Asia, to their day spent together, to Asia's kidnapping and the Jack's first major contact with Ddraig. How he'd smashed through the church and killed all but one of the people in it.

"And that was when Abigail showed up, and she had another Fallen Angel at gunpoint," Issei finished. "If you want the rest, go ask her."

"I don't care about the Fallen Angel," Elizabeth said. "What of Asia Argento?"

"Safe and sound," Valkost interjected. "She's with Dulio Gesualdo in Fourth Heaven now. I took her there myself."

"Thank you, Valkost," Issei said.

When Issei's head turned back, and saw Elizabeth giving him a meaningful look, his eyes narrowed, and he shook his head. The Jack was talking before she could even speak.

"Elizabeth," Issei said, in a tone perhaps a few notches too harsh, "if you're about to give me a big speech about how what I did was stupid, please, just save it. I've already had Lord Raphael chew me out for it. Apparently, he's cooking up a new punishment for me on top of my library duties as we speak. I don't need to hear it again."

For a moment, Elizabeth did not reply. Then, her eyes shut, and she began to slowly shake her head.

"Issei Hyoudou, I'd appreciate if you'd refrain from putting words in my mouth. I wasn't going to scold you. Not over this."

As Issei's eyebrows raised in surprise, Elizabeth turned to look at Valkost. "You said there was "hole" in the story. What do you mean by that?"

"It's not that I believe that Issei is being untruthful," Valkost explained. "Indeed, besides the details Asia naturally wouldn't have been present for, his and her stories synchronize perfectly. The "hole" comes from the sole remaining mystery of this entire affair, and you know that I am _never_ one to leave a mystery unsolved if it can be helped." A playful smile danced on her lips at that.

"What is this mystery, then?" Elizabeth asked.

"The mystery is simple – there's no doubt in my mind that this Fallen Angel had every intention of killing Asia Argento. The question, then, is why they waited so long and what exactly the Fallen Angel intended to accomplish with her death."

Elizabeth frowned, stroking her chin. Then, after a few moments, she nodded and turned to the brunette.

"Issei, go with Valkost. Help her with her investigation however you can."

"I'll try not to keep him too long," Valkost said.

Elizabeth put her hand up. "Don't worry about time. Official business from Heaven is a perfectly legitimate reason to miss training." Her wink to Issei, however, made it very clear that she intended to "make up" this time in addition to the hours they'd already lost.

Valkost, meanwhile, smiled again. "Thank you, Elizabeth." She turned to Issei and walked over, her hand finding his shoulder as it had in the library. "Well then, Issei, shall we depart?"

Issei felt her hand gently squeeze in a way that felt oh-so-good and felt himself blushing. Trying to keep his mind off of the relaxed massage Valkost was giving his shoulder, he shook his head and began digging through his pocket. "N-not yet. I have to make a phone call."

"Oh?" she asked as Issei pulled backwards. "To who?"

"The Devil that runs my home town," Issei replied as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. Without another word, he keyed the number in and pressed the phone against his ear.

The phone rang once, then twice and three times.

"Hello, Rias Gremory speaking."

"Hey, Rias, it's Issei again."

"Oh? Is there something I can do for you, Issei?"

"Yeah. I, uh, need a favor."

"What is it?"

"It's a bit complicated…"

* * *

"I cannot believe you actually got her to agree to this," Valkost said as she and Issei trudged up the hill to the church.

"Guess I'm just a born negotiator. And remember what I said – you don't leave my sight."

"Oh?" Valkost said, turning and shooting an amused look at Issei. "Are you trying to command an Angel with five times as many wings as you, Issei?"

"Suppose so," Issei said, smirking as he and Valkost crested the hill and walked towards the church's yawning doors.

Walking through Kuoh had been an interesting experience, to say the least. Issei had had to promise Rias that he wouldn't, under any circumstances, let Valkost wander off on her own.

Unfortunately, Valkost's beauty had _not_ gone unnoticed. Sure, Gabriel was still superior to her in looks, but Valkost was a looker by any standard. Valkost, of course, couldn't have cared less that people were eyeing her up. Issei, however, did, and his stomach sank when he realized that at least a few of his schoolmates were out and about.

As they walked into the church, however, Issei called himself back to where he was. After shutting the doors, Valkost summoned a number of small spheres of light, which spread themselves in the air and bathed the entire church in warm, inviting light.

Valkost gave a sad shake of her head as she took in the destroyed Christian iconography. "And the Fallen Angels continue to prove themselves utterly petty. When you have some time, Issei, perhaps you might consider organizing a restoration project in Heaven for this church? Issei?"

The brunette hadn't been paying a single ounce of attention to the ten-winged Angel's words. He was too focused on the source of the copper smell that had invaded his nostrils.

There, splayed over the back of one of the pews, was a man.

Or rather, _half_ of a man.

He had been ripped in half near the waist; Issei could only presume his legs were under the pews somewhere. Not far away, Issei spotted the corpse of a young-looking girl, blasted with enough holes to make her look like a gory block of swiss cheese. He once gothic dress was now little more than dirty rags held on by the stickiness of the wearer's own blood.

As Issei fought back a sense of nausea, he became conscious of Valkost calling his name.

"Issei?"

The brunette turned, shaking his head and trying to clear his mind. "What is it?"

"I said that we need to go downstairs. There's nothing of interest up here."

"What about these two?" Issei asked, sweeping his hand towards the corpses.

Valkost shrugged. "Dead Fallen Angels. I can tell by the smell of their blood. Like I said, nothing of any interest."

"Okay," Issei said, swallowing and falling into step behind the ten-winged Angel as they slowly walked downstairs.

At length they came to the foot of the descent, and the first thing that caught Issei's eye was the red glow the room was bathed in.

Issei's own enormous spears, each and every one of them a deep crimson, were _still_ present. The bodies of the dead were held fast against the wall, impaled.

Valkost's head spun to look at Issei. "Are all of these yours, Issei? Your kills? Your spears?"

"Yep."

"Stay here Issei. I would prefer to examine this scene on my own."

Valkost reached into a pocket on her dress. Withdrawing a small camera, she began to take numerous pictures, the clicking of the shutter echoing in the otherwise silent space over and over. Steadily, she walked across the room, getting numerous pictures of the bodies after dropping hoods to get a proper look at their faces. Issei could only assume it was for identification.

It took nearly ten minutes, but Valkost eventually made her way up to the central podium and the cross that lay on it. Raynare was still there, impaled through the chest by the largest spear of all.

Valkost spent more time on Raynare's corpse than any other, studying the ground, the cross and every centimeter of the platform's sides. Fifteen minutes passed before she was finally satisfied and walked back over to Issei.

"Well, it seems the mystery is solved."

"What's the answer?"

Valkost turned halfway and gestured towards the cross that Raynare was impaled on. "That Fallen Angel was conducting a ritual using young Asia Argento. A very specific _kind_ of ritual."

"What kind is that?"

"A Sacred Gear Extraction ritual."

Issei's eyes went wide as his memory automatically supplied him with another of Ridley's lessons.

 _The Fallen Angels, long ago, developed a way to forcibly remove the Sacred Gear from a person. It was able to be done quickly, in around a quarter of an hour. But this quicker process invariably would kill the host, which led to the development of a much longer, non-fatal ritual._

"I see I don't need to explain that to you," Valkost said. "Asia Argento owes her life to you. No question about that. I'll be making this point clear to Lord Raguel as we close out our investigation of this incident."

"What about the Fallen Angel Abigail captured?" Issei asked.

Valkost gave a dismissive shrug. "With any luck, she'll be executed once we've finished questioning her. Why, do you care what happens to her?"

"You're kidding me, right?"

"I didn't think so. That said, though, I would ask you a question before we depart."

"What's that?"

Valkost swept her hand over the bodies and the gigantic spears slammed through every one of them. "Do you feel anything about your role in all this? Guilt? Satisfaction? Horror? Shame?"

It took several seconds for Issei to respond, and when he did, his words were slow, perhaps a tad uncertain.

"Not… really? I mean, they were a threat to me and the life of my friend. I don't feel too bad about killing people like that."

Valkost slowly nodded, but she said nothing.

Without anything more said, the two of them returned to Heaven.

* * *

Two loud _thumps_ echoed through Raphael's office, causing the slightly fatigued Seraph to look up in annoyance. The paperwork had been extra-heavy today, and his own bad mood about Issei's second screw-up in as many days wasn't helping matters. It was well past sundown in Kuoh, and Issei himself was no doubt in bed. Asia Argento, meanwhile, was currently sleeping in one of the empty bedrooms in Raphael's building. What exactly they'd do with her would be decided tomorrow, after the captured Fallen Angel was interrogated.

Raphael wanted to ignore the knocks on his door. He wanted just to finish his paperwork and get back to his actual goal.

Alas, his professionalism was well-ingrained indeed.

"Enter."

To his surprise, it wasn't one of his Saints or one of the hospital staff who stepped through the door. Instead, in front of him stood the Flame of God, the hard-cut Seraph holding a file.

"What is it, Uriel?"

"Raphael, I think you and I need to talk about something."

"About what?" Raphael asked, putting his pencil down and folding his hands in front of him on the desk.

"About your Jack."

Raphael's eyes narrowed. "What about him?"

"I think you're going about handling what he's done today the wrong way. I spoke with him and provided him with the crystals he'd need to change his arm back, but he was also generous enough to part with the Sunlight Moth horn he obtained a few days ago."

"That's all well and good, Uriel, but I fail to see how that changes the fact that he needs to be punished for his action today. He put himself in unnecessary danger for the second time in two days."

Uriel shook his head. "Raphael, I think you're expecting too much of him."

"I'm expecting too much to demand that he think with his mind rather than his emotions? That he obey his own King?"

"In a word? Yes."

"I'm afraid I don't follow."

Uriel chuckled. "Raphael… you were the first to jump to Issei's defense despite his not being a believer – no surprise, given that you're his King and you've never liked the Brave Saint's standards regardless – yet you seem to have failed to internalize that same fact."

"What do you mean?"

"The fact is, Raphael, that you're making the mistake of treating him exactly the way you'd treat the rest of your current Saints."

"What's wrong with that? Your own Ace is a month _younger_ than Issei, I'll remind you."

Uriel pinched his nose between his fingers. "This isn't a question of age, Raphael. Nero is younger than Issei, yes, but he has also trained himself for combat since he was about four years old and has been an exorcist since he was thirteen. He has a vast wealth of combat experience to draw on and has learned to work under extreme pressure. Issei has neither of those. It's not even remotely fair to draw comparisons between them. I'm not saying what Issei did was necessarily smart, but it says far more about him than you that you expected any different. How did you think Issei, an untrained teenager with exactly two bouts of rather controlled combat to his name, would react to the threat of his friend being abducted to be killed? That he was able to keep his composure enough to fight his way through a church on his lonesome speaks much to his growth."

"So are you saying I should just let this entire situation slide?"

"Not exactly, but I'd also say that handing Issei a threat was also quite counterproductive."

"How so? Perhaps it'll be what Issei needs to stop throwing himself into dangerous situations without justification."

"Or, more likely, it'll lead to him either doing exactly what he did before, being locked in Heaven and steadily growing to resent you. That, or he'll be left constantly second-guessing himself and severely hamper his own effectiveness because he's afraid that he'll do something that you'll see as him intentionally taking unnecessary risks."

Raphael's teeth ground. "Let me turn this question around on you. Since my own method is apparently so wrong, tell me. What would _you_ do to get him to stop with this sort of behavior and teach him to control himself?"

"Oh, that's easy," Uriel said nonchalantly. "I wouldn't keep him _out_ of dangerous situations. I'd throw him straight into the fire. Put him through dangers and trials that stress him harshly. Then, with more "minor" situations, it will seem like nothing in comparison."

Raphael snorted. "I shall keep that in mind," he said, standing. "Now then, I must take my leave. I have a lead to follow."

"Oh, not yet, Raphael. Much as I know you want to snoop around Quebec some more, there's one more thing you ought to see."

Without waiting for the King of Clubs' response, Uriel laid the folder out on Raphael's desk.

Raphael blinked as he realized the folder was full of pictures.

In each one, he could see crimson spears and dead bodies, but that wasn't the main point of interest. The main interest was near the end, with a circle of symbols scrabbled out on the ground.

Raphael's eyes went wide. "That's –"

Uriel nodded. "A fast-paced Sacred Gear Extraction Ritual. And if my memory serves me right, the supplies scattered around it would indicate that they were about halfway through the ritual when Issei interrupted it. If Issei had taken the time to come get reinforcements, Asia Argento would probably be dead."

Raphael bit his lip. Certainly, he was happy that Asia had survived, but that threw a new issue into the mix. He'd already promised Issei a punishment, but now he had to decide whether to look at it deontologically or consequentially, or to split the difference.

Raphael rubbed his temples. Moral debates like this always gave him headaches. He looked up at Uriel.

"Is there anything else you'd like to beat me over the head with?"

Uriel shook his head.

"Then leave, please. I need to get out of this office and keep searching Quebec."

* * *

 _And cut._

 _And of course_ _ **now**_ _I come up with the idea of assigning ranks to each pair of Angel wings. I suppose I could just make slight edits to put those things in, but… meh…_


	18. A Few More Questions

_I do not own Highschool DxD_.

* * *

Before his eyes even opened, Issei Hyoudou could tell something was off. There wasn't the normal smell of his childhood home in his nostrils, nor of the slightly woody tang that pervaded the Clubs building. More than the scent, however, Issei felt distinctly too warm… and for that matter, distinctly did _not_ feel the softness of blankets on his chest or the pillow beneath his head. Most of all, though, it was that glow clawing through his eyelids. It danced in his shut eyes, blasting his vision with technicolor sparks of light.

Rather grumpily, Issei opened his eyes – and nearly screamed.

Above, below, to his sides, every which way he could see, Issei Hyoudou was surrounded by an inferno of the brightest flames he'd ever seen, floating through them as a fly floats through a warm breeze. He could see _nothing_ beyond the reach of the flames, the light of the fires offering absolutely no clue as to what might be beyond them. For all Issei's vision could see, they extended forever up and forever down, burning nothing and burning everything. And Issei stood – no, _floated_ – in the middle of the raging blaze, nothing beneath his feet whatsoever.

What killed the scream before it could escape Issei's throat was the voice that boomed through the sea of fire.

 **"Calm down, kid. The flames are just for decoration. They won't hurt you."**

Directly in front of Issei's vision, Issei saw the flames suddenly shift, jerking about and splitting down as though they were blades of grass stepped on by an enormous animal. Then, all at once, the flames in front of him vanished and revealed a colossal beast.

A slight squeak escaped Issei's throat as he took in the massive red-scaled dragon that stared at him with mirthful green eyes. Its wings flapped idly, and its huge tail swished about behind it, sending the endless ocean of fire blasting about as it sat, its two visible legs folded underneath its torso.

The entire beast was titanic in size, easily dwarfing the Clubs building.

As Issei struggled to keep his breathing under control, he heard a slight snort escape the beast.

 **"Not even going to talk? You're a pretty rude host, partner, especially after what I did for you yesterday."**

At that, Issei swallowed and forced words from his mouth. "Y-You're… you're Ddraig, then?"

 **"Who else would I be, partner? What, do other red dragons show up in your dreams pretty often?"**

"Wait, dreams?"

Another snort. **"Yeah. Dreams. You're asleep right now, partner. What, the fire being totally harmless didn't tip you off?"**

"Well… I guess not. So, uh… Ddraig?"

 **"Yes?"**

"What did you… you know, want?"

The dragon chuckled. **"Oh, nothing in particular. I just thought it was time we met face-to-face."**

"Uh… okay, then. Good to meet you, I guess."

 **"Same to you, partner."**

"Oh," Issei said. "And uh… thanks for yesterday. I definitely needed the help."

 **"Not a problem. Like I said, I'll give you my power whenever you want."**

"I do have a question about that, though," Issei said.

 **"Lay it on me,"** Ddraig said, shifting slightly but otherwise not moving.

"How does that whole… "flesh replacement to unlock power" thing work, exactly? I mean, not that I'm ungrateful, but I'm curious."

 **"It's pretty simple,"** Ddraig said. **"When I got sealed up in here, the power that I had** _ **was**_ **pretty drastically reduced due to the slight inconvenience of not having a body. But it's not all gone, and by offering your flesh to me, the Sacred Gear gives me the ability to change its flesh to mine. Think of it like a valve, though you can't "un-turn" it and the pipe only has so much water in it. After that, I can use the flesh this "valve" opened to me as a vector to release a little bit of my power, since the flesh is technically** _ **mine**_ **even though it isn't under my direct control."** A booming chuckle echoed in Issei's brain. **"You've seen the result. Turn enough of your flesh into mine and I can even make additions to your body."**

Issei nodded. "I, uh, hope you don't mind, but I've found a way to – "

 **"Change your arm back, I know. No offense taken."**

"Wait, how?"

 **"How'd I know to offer you help right when you needed it?"**

Issei didn't answer right away as he recalled the events of the previous day, and the suspiciously convenient timing. He hadn't really dwelled on it the day before, but as soon as it was pointed out, Issei nearly slapped himself.

 **"Getting it now?"**

"Yeah, you can hear and probably see outside of me."

 **"Yeah."**

"So why'd you offer to help me right then and not when I was dealing with the Long Gui or the Moth?"

 **"You didn't need my help then. I thought you might when you were chasing down that Fallen Angel. That's all there is to it. I must say, though, I think you ought to listen to Raphael. I may not be the man's friend, but he has a point when he says running in without thinking will get you killed sooner than later, and it certainly won't help you against the White One."**

Issei blinked. "White One? Who's that?"

 **"Our greatest enemy."**

"Huh?"

 **"Wake up, partner."**

* * *

The brunette's eyes opened once more, and for just the slightest instant, he felt the familiar, comforting warmth of the sheets on his bed, wrapping around him and pressing gently against him.

That moment promptly ended as the numbness of sleep fell away and his muscles began screaming at him.

As Issei struggled out of bed, he began to realize what exactly Elizabeth had meant by "brutal", and he was certainly not having trouble coming up with adjectives to describe how his body felt. The Queen of Clubs had pulled no punches in his training, and he'd been utterly exhausted when he'd collapsed in bed the night before. But he'd have traded how he felt now for last night in a heartbeat.

"Sore" wasn't nearly strong enough of a word to describe the horrendous pain that snaked through Issei's flesh. His body was in open revolt against his brain as he strained through his morning routine. Every single inch of him hurt, as though he was still human and had aged seventy years in a single night. Bruises snaked up and down his chest, and when he sneezed while brushing his teeth, his entire torso felt as though it was shattering apart against the force.

His parents, being his parents, weren't particularly sympathetic when he told them at the breakfast table. Instead, they just said that he'd willingly subjected himself to Elizabeth's torturous regime of training, and that he must have known what he was getting into.

"Like hell I did…" Issei muttered to himself as he slowly dragged himself to school.

The Jack shook his head then, reminding himself of why he had agreed to undertake this training to begin with. His Balance Breaker – that was the end goal. No more and no less.

That didn't help his agonized muscles, though, and he could only take a small amount of comfort in the fact that Angels healed faster than humans.

Emphasis on "small".

* * *

Initially, Issei's school day went well. Besides a few looks and odd stares, he made his way to his home room and took his seat without incident.

This "going well" phase ended the moment the other students realized who had walked in, and two particular students almost immediately shot from their seats.

Issei let out an agitated sigh as the two perverts he'd once called friends ran across the room towards him, feet slapping against the linoleum.

"What the hell, man!" Matsuda shouted.

"First the church thing and now this?!" Motohoma screamed. "I thought we were supposed to be friends!"

Issei buried his face in his hand as they kept yelling, waiting for the two to tire themselves out.

"What are you talking about?" Issei asked after nearly a full minute.

"It ain't just us!" Matsuda said. "It's the whole school! Everyone's seen the pictures!"

"What pictures?"

"These!" Motohoma's arm moved, and a brief instant later, two photographs had been thrown onto Issei's desk.

Issei turned slightly pale when he realized what they depicted.

He'd forgotten about his sighting his classmates while taking Valkost up to the old church.

And as he looked around, he saw expectant eyes all around and realized that Matsuda and Motohoma were just the only students with the guts to ask him directly about the beautiful foreign woman they'd seen their classmate with.

Issei swallowed. "She's, uh… she's someone I know…"

"Your girlfriend, huh?!" Matsuda demanded. "I guess that's why you ditched both of us!"

"You're kidding, right?" Issei asked, his voice having _no_ problem staying deadpan here. "She and I aren't together. I've only talked to her twice in my life."

The moment he saw the perverse grins come up on Matsuda and Motohoma's faces, Issei realized his miscalculation.

"So you're saying she's available?" Motohoma asked.

"Not to you!" Issei said, realizing even as he said it that he was doing so with too much energy and aggression.

"What, trying to keep her for yourself?" Matsuda asked.

Issei grit his teeth and shook his head.

"Then come on, be a friend," Matsuda pressed him. "Tell us who she is. Hook us _up_ with her, you know?"

Issei fingers slowly and gently rubbed his forehead as a plan suddenly came to mind, and a smirk crawled onto his face. "You really want to meet her?"

"Hell yeah!" both boys said simultaneously.

The smirk widened. "All right then, here's the first step. Go the library and get a copy of the Bible. Scratch that, get every version of the Bible they have. Study the teachings line by line and obey them. Maybe start going to church, too. Once you've done all that, come back to me for more instructions."

Matsuda and Motohoma looked at each other for a few seconds. Then, they turned and walked back to their seats, not saying a word to Issei and not sparing him even a glance.

Issei smirked to himself at his own cleverness, blissfully unaware that nearly everyone in the room was texting on their phones by this point, and of who was getting the messages.

* * *

"Halt. Identify yourself."

For the first time since he'd heard the slightly bored words exit the mouth of the guard at First Heaven's gate, Issei stopped. The pain in his muscles was quite a bit less, now, but that only demoted the pain from "excruciating" to "don't want to be walking around". His right hand raised, wings and halo appearing.

"Issei Hyoudou, Jack of Clubs."

"Welcome back to Heaven, Issei Hyoudou."

As Issei pushed the gate open, his thoughts were on checking in with Asia to see how she was and the continuation of his training, in that order.

His thoughts were promptly derailed, however, when he stepped through the gate and instantly saw Diethelm Waldseemuller seated on a bench a short distance away.

"Good afternoon, Issei," the Ace greeted him, his deep voice completely professional.

"Afternoon, Diethelm. What brings you up here?"

"I was told to wait for you at the gate by Lord Raphael. Lady Gabriel has informed our King that she wishes to speak with you alone."

Issei's eyes snapped wide. "W-what about?"

Diethelm's bearded countenance remained neutral. "She said to "bring the crystal", from what Lord Raphael told me. He told me that you would know what that meant. I hope that's the case, because I don't have the slightest idea. Other than that, she apparently wanted to assure you that you're not in trouble."

"Okay…" Issei said as beads of sweat broke out on his forehead and his heart raced. "Thanks, Diethelm. Where did she want me to meet her?"

"Lady Gabriel asked that you speak with her in the Garden of Eden. Follow the main path. She says it won't take long. Raphael has also informed me that you're to go to the training field directly afterwards. Elizabeth will be waiting for you there."

Issei nodded again. "I will. Thanks for the message."

"You're welcome." With that, Diethelm stood from his seat. "Now then, I'll be off. I have some business with the church."

A moment after, he was gone, and Issei started his walk towards the Clubs building. He could have flown, but the pain in his back made it easy to convince himself that he wouldn't lose much time by going on foot.

For the first few minutes of his somewhat slow stroll back to his home in Heaven, Issei's thoughts were entirely focused on what Diethelm had said and what Gabriel had requested. The brunette wasn't a fool, and he could easily figure out that Gabriel wanted him to bring her the crystal that he'd used to drain Ddraig's energy with. What he couldn't so easily deduce was _why_.

What the hell was she trying to do? Copy Ddraig's abilities? Issei discarded that hypothesis almost as fast as he came up with it. The draconic energy wasn't the same as his Sacred Gear, and Issei didn't believe for a second that Gabriel would make that mistake. Take the power for her own? That seemed even less likely. Gabriel was already an immensely powerful individual and desiring even more power didn't make much sense to the Jack, either.

As he walked and speculated, he was only vaguely conscious of those around him. He was mostly submerged in his own thoughts and ideas.

Eventually, though, those around him began to poke their way into his awareness.

At first, it was a minor thing that could be ignored as he walked from the gate to the Clubs building. A gaze would linger a bit too long. The occasional finger would point.

But as he drew closer and closer to the Clubs building and passed large groups of Angels, it became harder and harder to brush off. None drew close or tried to speak to him, but Issei could feel their gazes crawling across him.

It was just like the first day he'd been in Heaven. The only difference now was that Issei didn't have any idea what the stares were about.

As his pained muscles dragged him into the Clubs building and he closed the front door behind him, Issei's face creased in annoyance. If he had to be the center of attention, he would've at least liked to know what it was he'd done to be such.

* * *

Issei stood in the elevator, feeling it steadily rise beneath him as he fingered the crystal in his pocket. His heart gave hard thumps in his chest as he tried to keep his breathing steady. Sweat trickled from his palms and forehead, which he tried to wipe away in a fruitless effort.

Steadily, he felt the elevator slow and stop. The door swung wide, and after taking a deep breath, Issei stepped into the sunlight.

The Garden of Eden looked virtually identical to how it had the last time he'd been there. The stone path that lead deeper into the garden, the flowers around it and the thickly-grown trees were all exactly as he recalled.

The only difference he could see as he walked down the path was that the saint named Dulio wasn't seated beneath the tree as he passed it. In fact, no one else seemed to be around at all; the only noise Issei could hear was the wind shaking the vegetation.

That, of course, only lasted a short while before the path took him out of the area near the elevator. The path didn't stay straight for very long after that, curving this way and that through the trees and up and down hills that Issei had never noticed from the elevator, which made Issei's sore legs hurt all the more.

Then, after ten minutes or so of walking, the path took a sharp turn into a clearing laden thickly with flowers. In the exact center of the clearing was a massive tree.

Underneath it stood Gabriel, who nodded appreciatively as soon as Issei stepped in.

"Hello, Issei."

"Hello, Lady Gabriel." Issei's voice was much calmer and confident than he himself felt.

The female Seraph stepped forwards, and Issei's breath hitched. Gabriel didn't wear the sort of form-fitting clothes that Valkost did, thank goodness, but a certain bit of her anatomy wasn't disguised very well by the robes that she wore.

As he felt himself blush slightly, a familiar unpleasant sensation began stabbing through his back.

Gabriel smirked as she drew close. "Now, now, Issei, you really must work on that side of yourself." Her finger snaked out and gently pressed against his forehead, forcing his unconsciously-nodding skull to look directly at her face.

"I-I'm sorry, Lady Gabriel. I-It's just…" Issei trailed off as he realized that what he had been about to say would probably not be appropriate. A subordinate remarking on his better's appearance would be ill-received, no doubt. "I… I'm sorry, Lady Gabriel."

Gabriel's finger left his skin. "Very well, Issei. Since I know I'm taking time away from your training to ask you this, I'll be quick – you _did_ bring that crystal, right?"

"The one I drained Ddraig's power with, Lady Gabriel?"

"The same."

"Yep." Issei dug into his pocket and pulled out the octahedral stone. "Right here. Thank you for… uh… for stocking up on those, by the way."

"No trouble," Gabriel said, extending her arm once again. "Would you mind if I took it?"

"No, not at all. Not like I'm going to do anything with it." He pressed the crystal into the Seraph's hand.

"Thank you," Gabriel said, her face curling into a friendly smile as she slid the crystal into her robes. "Though, that's only the first half of my request."

"What's the other part?"

"From what I understand, transforming your arm with these crystals is only a temporary solution, and there isn't a permanent one known to any of us, though we'll certainly look into it." She stroked a strand of hair out of her eye. "If you're going to have to continuously use these crystals, would you mind giving them to me?"

Issei blinked. "Uh… no, I can do that. Just a little curious – what are you trying to do with them?"

"I'm working on a project. I want it to be a surprise when I unveil it, so no, I'm not going to tell you exactly what it is." She put a hand up. "It's nothing that's going to hurt you or anyone you love in any way."

Issei bit his lip for a moment, before returning Gabriel's earlier smirk. "If that's the case, Lady Gabriel, I have one condition."

"Which is?" Gabriel's head give a quizzical tilt.

"I want to be the first to see this "project" once you're done with it, if possible."

A light, musical laugh came from Gabriel, and she extended her hand. "A very fair deal. I'll accept that term, Issei."

Issei took it, and they shook. Once they released their hands, Gabriel nodded back towards the way Issei came.

"I wouldn't mind a longer talk, Issei, but the Queen of your deck isn't the world's most patient woman. Good luck."

"Thank you, Lady Gabriel. Before I forget, though, how do you want me to get ahold of you when the next crystal's ready?"

"Inform Raphael. He'll let you know from there."

Issei nodded. "Will do. See you then."

Gabriel nodded, and Issei left, knowing his day was about to get a whole lot worse.

* * *

Just as Issei was leaving Gabriel in the Garden of Eden, a certain other Angel was entering the Heaven two floors down.

It, like the Garden of Eden, was completely identical to how Issei would have remembered it. But this Angel had long since memorized the stars in Second Heaven, and she had no interest in viewing them right now in any case. She strode through the gloom with a cold air about her, her face hard as flint as she approached the prison block. When she entered the front door, she barely acknowledged the sudden flood of light against her eyes. Instead, she walked up to the front desk and made a specific demand of the Angel behind the desk.

Barely a minute later, she was in front of a specific, magically-reinforced gray door, key turning the lock. The door swung wide without a sound.

When she stepped in, her eyes narrowed at the woman seated on the bed in the spartan cell. This prisoner would've been beautiful under most circumstances, but being imprisoned in Heaven wasn't one of them.

Heaven didn't believe in kind treatment of its prisoners. Any cell was furnished with no more than a bed, sink and a toilet. There were no vermin, but cleaning oneself was restricted to a single bathing session every three days. Contact with the outside world was nearly nonexistent; even meals were delivered through a grate in the wall. The food was never for anything more than sustenance; nutrients and calories were present, but it was nearly flavorless.

The Angel who'd stepped in had quickly realized that this prisoner was used to luxury, and had recommended leaving them to suffer in the cell for a day or so. Perhaps it might weaken their resolve.

Yet as she raised her head, the Angel realized that that wouldn't have ever been necessary.

"Stand." The word was an order. It didn't promise violence, but it made it very clear that any resistance on the part of the prisoner would result in the prisoner's immediate and agonizing death.

The prisoner wisely chose to obey, shuffling off the bed and staggering to her feet, her head bowed as she faced the Angel who'd just entered.

"Raise your head."

The Fallen Angel did so, but her untied long hair swept across her face. The Angel wasn't sure if that was deliberate, but it wouldn't have surprised her. After half a moment, she strode towards the Fallen Angel, who stumbled backwards at the other's approach.

Soon enough, though, she hit the wall, and the Angel kept coming. Weakly, the prisoner tried to put up her hands to defend herself, but the Angel wasn't to be deterred. With gloved fingers, she roughly swept the hair hiding the prisoner's face away.

She wasn't surprised to see that the prisoner's eyes were bright red.

"Stay against the wall."

The Angel took several steps back and took a good, long look at the prisoner. What she saw was pathetic, but she supposed she wasn't surprised at that.

As she did so, the prisoner tried to speak.

"V-V-V-V-Val-Valk-Valk-Valkost –"

Valkost's head tipped slightly. "I see you remember me, Kalawarner. Pity that you're no stronger now than you were as a clerk in my investigation unit."

The prisoner's trembling hands raised, and her head fell once more. "P-P-Please…. Just… just… make this quick…"

"Did I say that you were to lower your head?"

Kalawarner's head snapped up, but her hands remained in the air.

"Lower your hands."

The Fallen Angel obeyed.

Valkost's eyes narrowed. "I'm not here to kill you, Kalawarner. I'm no longer Heaven's executioner. We haven't had a need for one since the end of the war. I'm here to get your side of the incident."

"I-I didn't do anything…" Kalawarner said, sniffling.

"I think I'll be a better judge of that then you. Start at the beginning. How exactly you got involved with Asia Argento. She tells a rather interesting tale."

"Sh-She made it?"

"No thanks to you. Don't try to delay answering me again."

Valkost could see Kalawarner gulp.

"I-I don't know much," Kalawarner stammered. "R-Raynare just said… said she'd gotten permission to take a Sacred Gear from the girl-"

"Asia."

"From Asia…"

"And why, pray tell, would you have been stupid enough to believe that Azazel, the Sacred Gear-loving nutcase that he is, would have authorized you to kill Asia? Or did Raynare claim it was to be a slower ritual?"

"I… I didn't ask… Raynare just said she'd help us rank up once she did…"

"And what was _your_ role in this whole plot?"

"I just guarded the church!" Kalawarner screamed. "That's all! I didn't hurt her or anything! Was just… there to keep the Devils out…" The energy was gone almost as soon as it had appeared, and Kalawarner had broken down into hysterical weeping.

Valkost was unmoved. She'd seen many prisoners cry crocodile tears before, and she'd long since lost any sympathy for a sobbing inmate.

"I see you haven't gotten any less _lazy_ since you fell, either," Valkost said dryly. "But, for once, you're not twisting the truth around. Never thought I'd see the day."

Kalawarner looked up at her with tearful eyes. Valkost snorted at the confusion she saw in them.

"We already know everything that happened in the incident, Kalawarner. Lord Raguel just wanted to see if you'd be telling the truth if we bothered to interrogate you."

Valkost could practically see Kalawarner's heart fall into her stomach at those words.

"Then… what are you… gonna do to me?" Kalawarner asked in a pleaded, sniffling voice.

Valkost gave a disinterested shrug. "Not my decision. If it were up to me, you'd be dead already just for being part of the group that nearly killed her. But we'll see what the Seraphs decide. If it means anything, I will include that you were truthful about your role in this incident in my report."

Slowly, Kalawarner's head shook. "Y-You're lying. You're gonna tell them that I-"

"I don't lie, Kalawarner. That was the case when you were still an Angel, and that's the case now. Believe that or don't, I don't care either way."

Without another word, Valkost turned, stepped from the room, and slammed the door shut.

As Kalawarner heard the door lock, she slowly slid down the wall, tears flowing freely once more. She buried her face in her hands as a single thought went through her mind.

 _I'm going to die…_

Over and over again, those words replayed in her mind, and as she heard it grow louder and louder in her head, she began to scream.

* * *

 _And cut._

 _So yeah, this took a while, mostly because I wasn't at all happy with the first two versions of it that I wrote. I'm aware that this chapter is mainly setup, sorry about that. But I have a plan of how I'm going to follow up on each and every one of the plot threads introduced here._

 _And yes, I'm fully aware that Kalawarner is OOC here. The other reason this chapter took so long is that I was taking a good, long look at canon DxD's villain characterizations, and I realized that Raynare's posse not only lack any sort of depth, they're all pretty much identical to one another and their role in the story doesn't make much sense (not to mention their minimal effect on the plot). As a result, Kalawarner's motives are changed a little and her characterization is that for all her haughtiness, she's actually a pretty pathetic individual overall._


End file.
